Unleashing the Fire Eater
by Razamataz22
Summary: When planning the next escape attempt from the Boiling Rock, Sokka encounters another prisoner with pink hair who may hold the keys to saving the world. However, would releasing this person help or destroy Aang?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

 **...**

Deep within enemy territory, outnumbered, separated from the man he had infiltrated in with and with no real options on what to do next. Needless to say, this was not a good situation to be in. He had to be here though, Prince Zuko, his father and Suki were all here. He would help all of them, no matter what. Thankfully Chit Sang hadn't ratted him out after their first failed escape plan so at least a little bit of time had been bought. How much though he wasn't sure.

Sokka sat amongst his fellow guards, grateful that his disguise was still intact. With the lockdown in effect a good portion of the Boiling Rock's Security were taking a break from their duties knowing that nothing could really go wrong at this point. Blended amongst the crowd, it gave Sokka time to think some things through.

The first escape plan had been a complete flop due to unforeseen circumstances however that had been because of a miscalculation. While they could have made it to the other side the condition they would have been questionable, the heat from the Boiling Lake would have sapped all of their energy. Hell he hadn't even checked to see if there were people that scouted the perimeter of the island they were on. He had faced some hairy situations before but this seemed like it would take a miracle of some kind to save the day.

"Who's turn is it to feed the 'prisoner?"' asked one of the nearby guards to one of his companions. Sokka couldn't help but perk his ears about how the guard had said 'prisoner.' As far as he knew all of the prisoners were meant to be fed at the same time. The only reason somebody would be excluded from this process was if they were being punished or if there was a reason to isolate them from everybody else.

Considering the lack of options he currently had, he had a feeling that this information could come in handy.

"It's meant to be Lin's turn but he's sick as a foxsloth," said the other guard. "I was meant to go with him considering the two people at each time rule that the Warden put down. No idea why he did that though."

"Are you kidding me? They were the orders from the General that caught the boy, like hell the Warden's going to disobey him."

"Boy? I heard he was a ten foot demon who fell from the sky!"

Sokka remained silent as whispers were traded between the guards, each rumour becoming more extravagant than the rest. It seemed like setting this guy loose would cause as a huge distraction big enough for a proper escape plan to be carried out.

"I'll go with you," said Sokka as he stood up, showing remarkable courage.

"You sure you can handle it newbie," said the guard who was apparently responsible for feeding the prisoner. "You heard what the men here were saying, are you sure you're not going to wet yourself when you see the 'demon?'"

Sokka couldn't help but swallow nervously but remained true to his needs. "Tell me when and where."

"Atta boy," said the guard as he slapped Sokka on the shoulder. "That's what I like to see around here, somebody who actually wants to see the truth for themselves. C'mon then, let's go."

"Make sure if he passes out Juun that you take him to the medical bay," said one of the guards as Sokka followed Juun out of the cafeteria, stopping momentarily to pick up a tray of food.

"You seem to know the truth about this guy, what crime did he commit?" asked Sokka as they marched down the walkway.

"He ate fire," said Juun causing Sokka to stop in his tracks momentarily.

"You're kidding right, you mean he's a circus performer?" asked Sokka.

"This was no comedic trick, I've even seen it myself," said Juun as they took a right turn and headed towards where the frozen isolation chambers were located. "Lin wanted to see whether or not the rumours were true so he shot a small fireball into the cell, nothing which would have done much damage at all but that's not the point. The point is that the boy inhaled the thing like it was nothing, then with a demonic grin on his face he thanked Lin for the meal."

"So it's a crime to eat fire then?" asked Sokka, hoping that Juun wasn't getting too tired of the continuous questions.

"The records show that he isn't a member of the Fire Nation, so whether it's a crime or not doesn't matter, nobody wants him out on the streets."

Sokka couldn't help but cup his chin in his hand as he understood why the Fire Nation Army would want to keep somebody like this locked up for all eternity. However it seemed as if not much research had been done into the whole thing. Was there a limit to how much fire this guy could consume? Where did he come for originally? Was he even a threat or were they afraid he'd become a threat?

Quickly snapping out of his stupor to find that they had arrived at their destination, Juun nodded at the heavy duty lock. "You can tell this one's special just by the way we keep him locked up," said Juun. "Hell you think this is where we'd hold up an Earth Army General but nope, this is just for one kid."

"Isn't this a bit overkill?" asked Sokka picking up a sword that was resting next to the door, not wanting to unsheath his own blade that he had strapped to his back. He figured that this weapon was left here in order to threaten the prisoner without having to resort to firebending, something which he was grateful he didn't have to prove.

"Yea but still, orders are orders," said Juun as the lock came undone. "He's been pretty docile lately but if he makes a charge I want you to run him through. Don't hold back."

"Of course," said Sokka doing his best to sound like he had the ability to kill someone his own age just because he was ordered to do so. Placing himself into a ready stance, Sokka braced himself for what was right in front of him, praying that the opponent did nothing rash.

As Juun pulled the door open the first thing Sokka noticed was that this cold room was unlike the cooler that he had had Zuko tear apart. Namely, it wasn't cold at all. When he had released Zuko from captivity he had been hit with an arctic blast that reminded him of the South Pole. This was the polar opposite, it almost felt as if the temperature had risen somewhat.

"Food already? I thought you were going to let me starve for another couple days," said the teenager in a cocky attitude. Turning his attention to the prisoner in question, Sokka couldn't help but imagine that this person was around the same age as he was. The pink hair he had however was nothing like he had seen before, probably part of some rebellious phase.

"Be happy you're getting fed at all," said Juun as he tossed the tray to the floor, half the contents spilling onto the ground. The cockiness of the boy quickly vanished as he scrambled for the food, even picking up the morsels that had splattered onto the floor. Sokka felt disgusted by the behaviour but he couldn't help but wonder just how often this person was fed? Could this teenager really help them with anything or would he just be dead weight?

Moral codes were overriding his system however as he was beginning to realize that he had to save this person.

Sometimes he hated being the good guy.

"You know, I can tell something big's going to go down," said the teenager between mouthfuls. "Hell, I bet you can't even tell what's going on right underneath your own nose."

"What are you talking about?" asked Juun.

"I give myself another day in here tops," said the boy as he wiped at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "In fact it might only be another couple of hours."

Juun turned his head towards Sokka. "We should report this to the warden," he said.

"Right," said Sokka. "This guy's probably spouting nonsense, who in their right mind would infiltrate this place."

"Ha, you got that right!" said Juun with a hearty laugh.

"I can think of one person," said the teenager as he pushed himself to his feet, Sokka bracing himself and praying that the teenager didn't do anything stupid. "And he's standing right next to you."

"What?" said Juun in shock before Sokka drove the hilt of his sword into the man's ribs, a solid crack signalling that at least a single one had broken on impact. Before Juun even had a chance to recover somewhat, the teenager in front of him had lunged forward, a flaming fist burying itself deep within his face sending a torrent of blood from his nose.

With the guard unconscious in front of them, Sokka and the prisoner looked at one another, the water tribe member completely confused by what had just happened. "How did you know I wasn't one of them?" he asked.

"You smell different," explained the pink haired teenager as he stretched his arms above his head, seemingly enjoying the fact that he had been set loose.

"Smell?" repeated Sokka.

"Don't underestimate my nose," he said as he dragged the body of Juun into the cell he had been previously locked in.

"Alright, so my entire plan has been ruined on the fact that you decided to reveal that I was infiltrating this place. I now only have one chance to get my dad, get Suki, get Zuko and get the hell out of here," said Sokka as he rubbed at his temples. "I don't suppose you've got any bright ideas."

"Beat the hell out of all of them," said the teen in a surprisingly confident manner.

Sokka was about to exclaim about how they were outnumbered quite severely, had no tactics and would likely get slaughtered until he remembered one very important piece of information. "You can eat fire right?" he asked.

"Sure can!"

"You know what, I think I can make something work," said Sokka recalling the ideas he had been throwing around with Suki, Zuko and his father earlier. "I'm going to release all the prisoners into the yard and get a riot going, then we'll get ourselves a hostage and get the hell out of here."

"Hehe, I'm getting all fired up!" said the teenager with a sinister grin across his face.

"I'm Sokka," said the water tribe member as he outstretched his hand, a strong grip encompassing his fingers moments later..

"Natsu Dragneel, now let's get out of here!"

...

 **Hey there. Considering all the backlash I got from cancelling 'No Kind of Bending,' I wanted to try to mix the worlds of Avatar and Fairy Tail again, more for the people who enjoyed No Kind of Bending more than anything. Hope you enjoy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar:The Last Airbender**

 **...**

Natsu waited patiently as Sokka went about achieving his goals. This in no sense was what he wanted to do but after having arrived in this unfamiliar world he knew that he had to abide by some guidelines in order to return to Fiore.

A rumble in his stomach reminded him that he had barely eaten since being captured a fortnight earlier. Or at least what he assumed had been a fortnight, completely unsure of when days had turned into nights and when individual days flowed into the next. Had he been at full strength there was no way that he would have gotten captured in the first place but there was something odd about the land.

Unlike Edolas where his magic had been completely sealed until having eaten one of Mystogan's pills, it seemed as if the land had a denser form of Etherion leaking into the atmosphere. Unlike Fiore where his magic reserves would have filled back to the brim within a couple of days he had yet to return to half his reserves. Part of this reason was that when he had gained enough magical power he had vented it out in a single blow to remove the cooling system from his prisoner permanently, a feat he was particularly proud of. The arctic blast, while nowhere near as devastating as the attacks that Gray could unleash, had been annoying to say the least. When they had discovered that he had destroyed the cooling system they had halved his meal size but the look on their face had been worth it.

A growl of the stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten a proper meal in a long time. A proper meal however wasn't what he was after, he was after a good deal of fire. Considering he couldn't take much magical energy from the atmosphere he was going to need to consume a hell of a lot in order to top up his magic reserves. Does that mean that he wouldn't go all out if the time came? Hell no!

An alarm going off within the building signalled that Sokka had been successful in letting all of the inmates out of their cells. Before he left though he needed to make sure that he went by the head office and took back what was rightfully his. Provided he could find out where the main office was however.

As a couple of guards rushed into view, an idea surged into Natsu's head as he sprung from his position. To some it would be seen as a simple question, to others it would be seen as an interrogation. From the guards perspective however all they saw was a pink haired demon casually strolling towards them.

...

"This is it, we have to start a riot!" declared Sokka as he caught up with both his father and Suki. A quick look around informed him that neither Natsu or Zuko had made an appearance of yet. Considering he had only just left the fire swallower he wasn't quite sure where he had gone off to. He figured though it would be easy to spot him when the time comes, it wouldn't be that hard to see a mop of pink hair.

At least he hoped so.

"So how do we do that?" asked Suki.

The eldest member of the trio looked around, a sly smirk crossing his features as he figured out something that may just work in their favor. Before he got the chance to act however, a terrified scream of a prison guard rang out and all of the inmates turned their attention upwards. Not one but three guards were raining down on the inmates who suddenly found themselves with an opportunity to get even with the men who had held them captive for so long.

"This is going to be fun!" declared one of the inmates as he cracked his knuckles knowing full well that what he was going to do would be severely punished. Considering this golden opportunity however, he along with many of his fellow prisoners, would be happy to take on a week in the 'Cooler.'

"That works I guess," said Hakoda as the inmates starting going rampant, unleashing their pent up aggression on those around them.

"Not how I imagined that would work but we'll take it I guess," said Sokka before a burly hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"You're lucky I didn't rat you out boy," stated Chit Sang. "I take it this is your new escape plan, and I want in!"

"Excellent," said Sokka. "As you can see, the riot part of my plan is in full swing."

As if responding to his comment, the violence the guards had been showing to the guards had been spread to each other. Chaos would be an adequate word for the situation at hand but perhaps that wasn't even enough to describe the carnage in front of them.

"There's another one, get 'im!" shouted one of the inmates as he pointed at Sokka, a group of them quickly spotting the teenager wearing the employees work uniform.

"Shit," cursed Sokka realizing that the situation was less the favourable. Unsheathing his sword Sokka knew that the guys in front of him had done nothing wrong, other than whatever it was that had gotten them into prison in the first place. Considering that they were considered enemies of the Fire Nation it would be beneficial in the long run to unleash these guys on the outside world. Yet even he knew there were some things he couldn't accomplish.

Chit Sang was first to attack punching out a sending a ball of fire towards the assailants. Two of the men drove forward, bending the attack and turning it into nothing before retaliating with their own assault. Suki, Sokka and Hakoda focused their attention on those who weren't sending streams of fire in their direction. Despite his imprisonment on a Fire Nation vessel before being sent to the Boiling Lake, Hakoda showed no signs of having slowed down at all and was easily able to keep up with his son. As for keeping up with Suki, considering the Kyoshi warrior was in a league of her own there was little chance that either of the water tribesmen would be able to keep up with her.

On the other side of the spontaneous battlefield, Prince Zuko was facing his own problems as he tossed a man over his shoulder. After having locked up his ex (praying silently that nothing bad would happen to her), Zuko had fought his way out of the main building but it was clear that the guards would soon have everything back under their control eventually. For the moment they had barricaded the central entrances back into the building. Hell they could wait it out for days just for the inmates to push themselves past the point of exhaustion. Considering there were few human rights here the convicts would dehydrate and starve before being ushered back into the building where the real punishment would likely begin.

In honesty it was ingenious and they would likely need to find another, less conventional way to get back inside. Or burst their way through with whatever means necessary. Whatever worked. For now though he had to rendezvous with the rest of the group and see what the next course of action was.

...

"I can say that this is not how I expected this facility to be run," said Azula as she looked down upon the chaos, Ty Lee sitting on the railing by her side dangling her feet off the edge. Surrounding them stood a dozen guards, each having been personally instructed to assist the Fire Lord's daughter in whatever way she saw fit.

"You want to go down there and have some fun?" asked Ty Lee a little antsy to get into the action.

"Not yet," stated Azula as a vicious smile crossed her lips. "Our opponents will come to us."

...

 **Hope you enjoyed**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

 **...**

"Damn it, I went the wrong way!" said Natsu as he found himself looking at another archway seemingly having gone in circles. "I already threw all the guards out the window so who can I ask?"

Scratching at the back of his head, Natsu contemplated backtracking and seeing whether or not he had missed a stairwell but considering he had already gone up a few flights of stairs he wasn't sure if he should go any higher. Also considering that the prison was usually full of prisoners who had no sense of personal hygiene he couldn't get a good scent of what he was after. A quick inhale however brought a very different smell to his nostrils, one which left him slightly confused.

Walking past a few empty cells he came across a closed room where he could smell two people inside. One had the same scent as every other guard but the other one...

"You're not a prisoner are you," said Natsu as he looked through the small slit at the person inside.

"Congratulations, you figured it out, would you like a medal," said Mai, her voice devoid of happiness.

"What happened to the guy behind you?" asked Natsu noticing the unconscious guard in the background.

"He was irritating me," said Mai without remorse.

"Well can you wake him up? I need him to help me find something," said Natsu.

"What, you hoping he'll lead you to wherever you need to go?"

"Pretty much."

"Well it's not going to work, unless you've got the keys you're not going to open this door," said Mai. "Now leave me alone."

Mai turned her back to the door, done with this pink haired idiot. Several seconds passed before the steel door rattled, a huge blow nearly snapping the hinges. Clearly startled, Mai took a small leap towards the centre of the room and pulled a kunai out of her sleeve before another blow rang out and then another one, again and again the sound of flesh smashing against steel but by the sounds of it the flesh was winning.

"You might want to step back," warned Natsu, Mai nodding in acceptance as she retreated to the end of the room. With an almighty bang, the final blow was launched and the door gave way, falling inwards with such force that anybody within the confines of the building would have heard it.

Mai looked at the outer side of the door to find that the metal had been dented inwards with the force of a sledgehammer. Considering that the boy in front of her only had his fists as weapons she felt there must have been some kind of trick at play. She had seen one of the Avatar's group bend metal to her will but to her knowledge the small Earthbender was the only person capable of doing so.

"You are aware that you just knocked down a door made of two inches of solid steel," said Mai as she sent a venomous glare towards the teenager.

"Meh, it's not the strongest thing I've punched through," said Natsu as he rolled his shoulder.

"Alright then, who are you? Why are you in my uncle's prison?"

"Your uncle's the warden...then I guess I don't need to wake that guy up after all," said Natsu as a devilish grin spread across his face.

"If that's the case then I propose a trade," said Mai as she returned her weapon back to its previous spot. "I'll take you wherever you need to go and then you help me track down my idiot boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend's locked up in your uncle's prison?"

"From what I can tell he snuck in, no idea why he'd do something that stupid though," said Mai.

"Snuck in, excellent I met the guy earlier."

"You did?"

"Sure we'll go get my muffler and then I'll take you to him."

"A scarf...you broke down a steel door because you're looking for your scarf," said Mai dryly before she rubbed at her eyes. "Whatever, I'll take you to where the prisoners belongings are stored."

...

"There they go," said Ty Lee cheerfully as she watched Sokka's group burst their way through the barricade having seemingly convinced a heap of the convicts to turn their attention back to inside the walls. One of the group had gone well ahead having used techniques rarely seen outside the circus to scale the prison walls in order to capture the warden.

"Considering there's only one way off this rock we know they're going to head for the gondola," said Azula.

"So let's go cut them off," said Ty Lee.

"It may be a bit late for that," said Azula as she watched her brother as well as the rag team crew he kept as companions join their comrade before one of them hurled the warden onto their shoulder and they were off running again.

"So what, you just going to let them get away?" asked Ty Lee.

"Please," scoffed Azula. "The hunt isn't over until I say it is."

...

Sokka held his sword at chest high, prepared for anything as he walked past the Fire Nation guards. With the warden as hostage they were safe for the moment but there was no guarantee that they would be safe for the entire trip. One false move and one of their own would become a hostage and they would be stuck at a stalemate.

He had to prevent this no matter what.

As much as he would like to wait for Natsu, Sokka was fully aware that time was not on their side. He had given the pink haired teenager explicit instructions to follow and he had been let down. Had Natsu encountered trouble while he had been away? Considering how much of a high level prisoner the boy was he wouldn't have been surprised if a ridiculous number of guards had done their best to recapture the boy. Perhaps that would explain why some guards had quite literally rained down upon the courtyard.

Having passed the group of guards, Zuko parried on the spot to face them and be ready to block any incoming bending attacks. With the backs secured, the rest of the group moved with haste to the gondola, unceremoniously dumping the warden on the bottom of it as they did so. With a quick glance over the shoulder to ensure that everybody was safely onboard, Zzuko turned his back to the guards and made a beeline towards the central control lever. Gripping the handle tightly with both hands, Zuko activated the gondola before taking a step back and kicking at the control, breaking it on the third attempt.

With his mode of transport slowly getting away, Zuko leapt over the railing as several fireballs barely missed their mark. Reaching upwards, the banished prince was grateful that his arm was caught in Sokka's grasp, the boy helping him get into the gondola. "What were you thinking?" asked Sokka clearly not having expected Zuko to risk his life like that.

"I made it so that they can't stop us," explained Zuko.

"We're on our way," said Suki hopefully as she looked towards their destination.

"Wait, who's that?" asked Hakoda getting the feeling that something wasn't right.

Meanwhile, as the group inside the gondola realised there was no safe route just yet, Azula couldn't help but feel that considering her brother was quite literally trapped in a suspended box that this was a perfectly good time to have a little family reunion.

...

Mai looked out the window of her uncle's office, watching as the gondola steadily climbed up the railing towards freedom. Well, at least provided that her friends didn't have anything to say about it. Considering that they were getting closer to the gondola by the second there was a good chance that they had a lot to say.

The breaking of wood caused her to look over her shoulder at Natsu who was currently ransacking her uncle's office, demolishing everything in his path and tossing everything that wasn't his target to the side. With a scowl crossing her face, she turned her attention back towards the gondola and knew that she had to do something now.

"I don't have time for this," she said before running out the open door, Natsu pausing briefly to look up and see her vanish from sight. Biting at the inside of his lips, Natsu redoubled his efforts. He could smell his muffler, it was in here and he knew it. Flipping the desk over, Natsu found himself staring at a steel chest and inhaled deeply, a familiar scent infiltrating his nostrils.

Gripping the lock, Natsu roared out as he unleashed fire directly from the palm of his hand and into the metal device which currently held personal belongings inside. Knowing that not only his belongings but those of every prisoner in the courtyard was currently residing within the steel box, he would be sure to return their belongings to them before chasing after Mai.

...

Holding the body of a guard above his head like a trophy, the bulky prisoner let out a primal roar like a savage beast. His cry of victory was met with cheering from many of his fellow inmates. They had been victorious in the battle, the waves upon waves of grunts having tried to recapture them had been taken down one after another until it seemed there was nothing left. Considering that most of the guards had likely been on top of the tower protecting the warden however, there was still much to be done before the battle for the Boiling Lake was done. Also their victory had not been an easy one, especially since the first half of the battle had been with each other. Many of the inmates were sporting burns and bruises, some of them had simply taken to sitting down with their backs to the wall feeling that if they didn't fight anymore their punishment would be less than those who wished to continue fighting.

A sickening crunch rang out as tiles cracked under the sheer weight of the object that had fallen out of the sky, thankfully not crushing anybody in the process. Tossing his trophy to the side, the inmate walked over to the chest and opened it up revealing clothing, personal items and all manner of objects. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small doll. To most, it looked like nothing important but to the inmate it was everything, the gift he had gotten to give his daughter while having been on the run. He could have escaped, he could have never risked going back home.

But to have seen her smile one more time had been worth the risk.

Gripping onto the doll tightly as other inmates ravaged the box for their belongings, the inmate looked up to where the gondola was slowly making it's way over the lake. He had never dreamed of getting off this island but now he had a reason to. Breaking out into a sprint, the inmate knew that if there was the slightest, just the slightest chance to get out of here once and for all he would take it with everything he could muster.

From the rooftop, Natsu couldn't help but smile as the inmates took back what was theirs to begin with. Turning his attention to where the gondola station was, he figured it was time to hold up to his end of the deal.

...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

...

Mai stared across the rooftop at Azula, the fire princess looking at her with malice in her eyes as Zuko got away to safety. The airship they had arrived on along with the two smaller escort ships would still be docked at the edge of the island. Normally they would have scoffed about being escorted by more soldiers but the rumors about the fire eater locked up in the prison deemed it necessary to bring backup just incase. Undoubtedly the flagship would be stolen by Zuko and they would make their escape, out of Azula's grasp. Considering that her objective had been completed, the uncle's niece had given herself up knowing that there was no point left in showing how pitiful the security here actually was against someone better than the inmates who couldn't fight back.

With her ex out of sight and safe, Mai had trouble describing the emotions she was feeling at the moment but if anything she could say that it somewhat resembled happiness, or at least what she remembered happiness feeling like. If she hadn't been staring down someone who could shoot lightning at her she probably would have smiled.

Maybe.

A quick glance to the side saw Ty Lee in a seemingly difficult situation. The overly cheerful disposition of the girl likely couldn't handle the thought that her two friends had quickly become enemies. Had the situation been any more stressful she wouldn't have been surprised to see the former circus performer in tears, which considering her overly cheerful personality would be a welcome change. Well for her at least.

"Leave us," commanded Azula, the two guards bowing before making their exit, neither of them wishing to be anywhere near the confrontation they could feel was about to happen. Sadly neither of them got far before they were blown backwards and right between the two women.

"Hey, I made it," said Natsu cheerfully as he walked towards the group, hands held behind his head with a big smile on his face, happy to be in his clothes once again. With his abs revealed, his scarf fluttering in the wind, it was quite clear that he didn't care for the atmosphere at all.

"You're alive," said Mai stoically as the two prison guards scrambled to safety.

"Happy to see you too," said Natsu in return.

"Could you give me a moment, there's something I need to discuss with Azula," said Mai before turning back to the Fire Nation princess who was currently glaring daggers at the teenager who had barged in on the situation. Figuring that she would deal with him shortly, Azula focused back on Mai.

"I get the feeling I ruined the mood," said Natsu casually to nobody in particular, not really caring much for the bickering between the two girls in front of him. Having Juvia bicker with her 'love rival' in Lucy on a day to day basis basically meant he zoned out of these things. Even by picking up every second or third world it was clear that this entire thing was about a boy along with something about fear versus love. Basically the entire back and forth conversation gave him time to silently pray that everybody else in the guild had gotten home safe from Edolas and Fairy Tail would be back how it was before when he got home. The first thing he would do when he got back would be to challenge Erza to another fight, if only to loosen up his muscles again after having been trapped in a box for so long.

His interest in what was going on in front of him skyrocketed as the two girls who had been staring one another down finished talking, Mai raising up a knife as Azula moved into a fighting pose. Before he could do anything however, the girl to his side struck forward, hitting Azula twice in such a way that the black haired princess seemed to lose all sense of mobility.

"We have to get out of here," stated Ty Lee as she rushed towards Mai's side who was still in shock at what had just happened. As if to respond to her call, dozens upon dozens of guards surrounded them.

"Where do these guys keep coming from?" said Natsu in confusion having thought that he had already obliterated a good portion of the prison's security. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to beat these guys up as well."

While Ty Lee wanted to scream out that it was pointless, the ridiculous amount of confidence the boy had was unnerving. At least twenty guards encircled them and even more were behind them as a second wave of offence. Those that Mai had disabled earlier were also making their way across knowing that with their pride having been shattered earlier that they had to regain some kind of honor. Not too mention that chances were that one of the guards had radioed for assistance to contain the riot and a warship was likely on the way. None of that seemed to matter as Ty Lee watched with awe as Natsu stepped forward and the guards seemed to instinctively flinch away.

From her position on the ground, Azula was seething in anger that not only one of her companions but both of the people she had called friends had forsaken her. She was the Princess of the Fire Nation, destined to one day sit on the throne as Queen and they had betrayed her. She would see them rot in the darkest pits of hell for what they had done!

"We've got you surrounded, surrender!" ordered one of the prison guards trying to take some sort of leadership.

"Na, that's not my kind of thing," said Natsu casually as he put his hands behind his head. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as a couple of guards helped Azula to her feet.

"What are you fools standing around for, get them!" commanded Azula.

"They're not as foolish as you think," said Natsu as he looked towards the black haired princess. "They're scared."

"Why would they be scared of you?" asked Azula, her anger rising by the second.

"Firstly, because they know I'll beat them," said Natsu with a devilish grin spreading across his face. "Secondly, because we've got some major backup coming on our side."

"What are you talking about?" asked one of the guards.

"Take a look in the yard," said Natsu nudging his head to the side. "Because if you think we're outnumbered you're not going to like what happens next."

Before anybody could ask what the pink haired boy was going on about, it quickly became very clear as the sound of an angry horde became louder and louder. As if it had been predicted, most of the prisoners who had been fighting the guards down below charged onto the path. Needless to say that the guards had been frightened just by Natsu's presence alone, now they were terrified.

"Get the princess to safety!" shouted one of the guards before shooting a fireball at the oncoming group to little effect, the blast being cancelled out without little difficulty.

"She was a princess?" said Natsu confused as the guards went about protecting the member of royalty, escorting her to the gondola.

"Protect her with your lives!" screamed one of the guards as they got onto the transport, carefully placing the crippled princess inside whilst other members of security got the gondola moving before preparing to hold the line with everything they had possible. Considering that the odds were no longer in the favor with the numbers game clearly belonging to the convicts it was safe to say that they were fighting a losing battle.

"Get me out of here!" ordered Azula from the safety of the gondola. When she got into communications with her father's fleet she would send an armada to the island to ensure that every prisoner got what they deserved and nothing less. Not only that but she would sentence the Warden to Agni Kai for failing so miserably to keep the inmates in order. The only person she currently considered sparing was Ty Lee, the former acrobat hadn't struck her as hard as first imagined and she was already starting to regain mobility. Perhaps once she was queen she would keep the traitor as her personal jester.

Or strung up and tortured for her enjoyment, whichever she felt like at the time.

"Incoming!" shouted one of the men aboard the gondola as Azula got to her feet before blinking twice in confusion. She was well aware that they were at least twenty feet away from the safety of the platform and apparently someone was bold enough to try and make the distance. She watched as the guards within the confines of the small cart shot several fireballs at the oncoming threat but were completely bowled out of the way as the person safely landed within the confines of the gondola with a cheesy smile across his face.

This was quickly replaced by a look of terrible sickness as he held his hand up to his mouth and began whimpering. "Wendy...where are you?" asked Natsu as he crawled his way to the railing and held his head out the window into the open air, unfortunately having little to no effect.

Azula stood there somewhat dumbfounded that the man had been able to successfully make the distance and also have the agility to twist himself in such a way to fit through the small opening and take out the guards at the same time. Looking back towards the platform it seemed as if the guards had taken a page out of Zuko's book by having destroyed the lever before having been full overrun.

She was in the clear with only the few guards that were currently regaining their bearings after having been completely taken off guard and the pink haired ruffian who was trying to settle his stomach. A vicious grin marked her face as she knew just what to do in this situation.

...

"We've got to help him!" said Ty Lee as she looked out towards the gondola, dangling over the boiling water.

"As soon as you start running across the wires you'll be shot down," declared Mai, stating the obvious.

"Well we can't just sit here!" screamed Ty Lee, feeling like she had to do something in this situation.

"Look!" shouted one of the prisoners as he pointed out towards the gondola, Ty Lee and Mai turning their attention just in time to see a familiar pink haired boy plummeting towards the boiling water.

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

...

Sokka sat with his back against the metal container they currently sat in thousands of feet in the air, Zuko Manning the furnace to ensure that they stayed in the air. The cockpit was being manned by both his father and Chit Sang, their course predetermined. Everything went as well as he had hoped it would have prior to leaving to the Boiling Rock.

Yet he felt like he had failed in saving the world.

"What's the matter?" asked Suki noticing the discomfort that Sokka had printed upon his face.

"I messed up," he said as his features sunk even more.

"You risked your life and in doing so rescued me and your father from imprisonment, honestly of you're kicking yourself after that effort I have no idea what your original goals were," said Suki as she placed a hand on her hip. "What more could you have wanted?"

"Nothing," said Sokka as he pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going to check on Zuko."

As the member of the Southern Water Tribe walked towards the engine room, Suki could see that something was eating away at him. Even though she didn't truly see Zuko as a good guy as of yet she couldn't help but pray that he helped break Sokka out of this funk which was keeping him down.

With a jet of flames streaming from his fist, Zuko could feel sweat forming on his brow. The heat contained within this small room was torturous and could easily break someone who wasn't prepared for the harsh workload. Allowing his fire to extinguish he was able to see that the coals within the furnace were hot enough to maintain the altitude. Closing the shutter, Zujo used his forearm to wipe the sweat away moments before the door to the room opened.

Looking over his shoulder, the former Prince could see his fellow jailbreak accomplice looking a little worse for wear. This however was not his forte. "Whatever your problem is, I don't want to know about it," he said coldly.

"There's just something I need to ask you about Firebending," said Sokka hoping to get straight to the point quickly enough to keep Zuko talking.

"What about it?" asked Zuko as he crossed his arms.

"You know how that creepy three eyed guy could shoot explosions from his mind...are there other Firebenders out there that can do stuff that nobody else could?" asked Sokka wishing he had planned his question better.

"None in the royal army, or at least any I know about," said Zuko mildly intrigued by the nature of Sokka's question. "With most of those people they're unable to bend fire normally and because of that are unable to join the army. They usually work as bounty hunters or as assassins."

"That's... ominous," said Sokka slowly. "Well one of the prisoners I saw during the riot looked as if he had fire surround his fists and it wasn't actually burning away at him. Was I just seeing things or is something like that actually possible?"

"No Firebender is fireproof," said Zuko. "I'm living proof of that."

"So it'd be impossible for someone to eat fire or hold onto fire then," said Sokka.

"Impossible," clarified Zuko.

"Thanks," said Sokka as he turned his back to the former Prince.

"There is however an old story however," said Zuko. "My uncle told me once about a boy centuries ago who challenged the dragons to a fight. His father had challenged the dragons but never returned, and so he sought to gain his vengeance. Unlike his father however the boy had no Firebending abilities and simply challenged the dragons with his fists."

"What happened?" asked Sokka.

"The boy wasn't heard from for fifty years and everyone believed him to be dead. Then one day he returned just like that, popped up out of the blue without looking like he had aged a day. The story dictates that the dragons sought to teach the child what nobody else knew."

"What did they teach him?" asked Sokka completely entranced into the story.

"Nobody knows, once his village learned of who he was they banished him, believing that his youth was a curse, the dragons dooming him to an eternal life."

"How could eternal life be a curse?"

"They banished him from their village so that he wouldn't have to watch them die, to make connections and fall in love to simply watch the world around him burn to ash again and again. That's how the story ends."

"I see, thank you for your time," said Sokka making a beeline for the exit. Zuko knew not to enquire into why the teenager wanted to know the answer to his questions but if his time chasing the Avatar taught him anything it was that these things always had a way of coming back around.

...

"The last guard's been locked up," said Ty Lee to her friend. The comment however did little to raise the girl's mood, though in retrospect very little in this world managed to please the girl. "Look, there was nothing we could have done..."

"I know that," said Mai as she looked out the window towards the boiling water that surrounded the prison. "I'm just thinking now how we're going to get off this island."

"There was a distress call going out for any nearby ships to come and assist with the riot," said Ty Lee, recalling some of the information she had gotten out of the guards. "We'll ambush them, steal the ship and sail off. No idea where but we'll need to keep off the Fire Nation's radar."

"When was the call sent?" asked Mai hoping to get to the point.

"Forty minutes ago," said Ty Lee. "Why?"

Turning around, Mai looked her friend in the eye. "On our way here we flew over a ship coming here to deliver more prisoners. At the rate they had been going they would have been able to reach the island in a couple hours. If they received a distress call they could have easily tripled their speed to get here."

"What are you saying?" asked Ty Lee.

"That ship's already here."

...

As the gondola slowly made it's way to the outer rim of the island with a group of prisoners prepared to defend their freedom, Ty Lee opted to take a different approach as she sprinted across the line to scout exactly what it was they would be up against. Reaching the platform, Ty Lee was able to see that Mai had been correct in her assumptions. A black vessel was indeed porches at the dock, the Fire Nation flag proudly billowing in the wind.

The strange thing was that she could see no assault force scaling the pathway towards where she stood. While this was curious she soon discovered the reason.

The soldiers had gotten off the ship, hundreds of them if her count was correct. None of them though had even made it to the stairwell. Processing downwards she could see that every single man had been defeated, with broken armour and weapons proving the point. Scorch marks could also be seen showing that the entire force had not held back against their opponent.

That then raised the question however, who had they been fighting?

The first thought was that they had gone into combat with the group that had escaped first but it was unlikely considering that they had no reason to stick around to see if assistance was going to be required in any way shape or form. There was no rebel faction marching up to the gondola platform so that quickly threw that idea out the window (although Ty Lee temporarily contemplated the fact they could be Earth Kingdom warriors making their way through the walls at the moment she wouldn't believe so until proven otherwise).

So what had defeated them all?

Having descended down the cliffside at a rate that only a professionally trained circus performer could, Ty Lee looked back up to the platform to see that the group that had been prepared to fight off the invasion had arrived to see the shocking revelation. No doubt they would be bickering amongst themselves whether it was safe to come down lest they face the wrath of whoever had defeated an entire battleship single handedly.

"Hey, you're Mai's friend aren't you," said a chirpy voice causing Ty Lee to whip around in an instance and put up a fighting stance, preparing herself for whoever she would be up against.

"Hey, hey, no hostility here," said Natsu jokingly putting his hands in the air, his clothes and hair all dry after his dip into the boiling lake. "Well, no hostility anymore at least."

...

 **Hope you enjoyed**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or Fairy Tail**

...

Sokka watched on as his sister embraced their father, tears of joy streaming down her face at the family reunion. He could hear Toph make some offbeat comment off to the side but he paid it little attention as the rest of the escapees got off the floating ship. As greetings were made and acquaintances reunited, Sokka opted to move towards the edge of the temple. To most it would seem as if he was taking this moment to bask in the fact that they had broken both in to and out of one of the Fire Nation's most heavily guarded prisons.

His isolation was short lived though as Aang walked over to where he was. "You alright?" asked the Avatar, the airbender curious as to why the Southern Water Tribe member wasn't celebrating with the rest of them.

"Yea Aang, I'm fine," assured Sokka.

"No you're not," said Toph from behind the two boys, startling them slightly. "There's no point in lying."

"You can tell from the vibrations just from him standing there," said Aang in disbelief.

"No, I can tell it in his voice," said Toph.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it," said Sokka as he tried to make his escape, only for a pillar of Earth to rise up and block his path.

"You and Zuko have just invaded a Fire Nation prison, a feat which I never thought you would attempt let alone succeed," said Toph as she spat to the side. "On any other occasion you would be elaborating upon how great you had acted and how everybody got out because of your actions. So why is it that the loudest person in the group is acting like a rabbitmouse?"

"Fine!" snapped Sokka, loud enough that the people who were amidst celebration were silenced in an instant. "You want to know why I'm down, because at the Boiling Rock I found something, no, someone who I believe could have won the war for us!"

"I broke him out of his cell, one which was the most heavily fortified on the island and he was barely older than us. You want to know why a teenager, a teenager of all things was the most guarded prisoner on an island full of murderers, war criminals and worse?" asked Sokka.

There was silence from the rest of the group, none of them daring to interrupt Sokka from his rant. Katara had never seen her brother in such a way and was clearly worried about her, Hakoda holding on to her daughter protectively.

"The boy could eat fire! I don't know if it was a rumor, a legend or just a joke but there was a guy in that prison who just maybe, maybe could have been the answer to everything!" shouted Sokka, panting heavily.

"I already told you, that's impossible," said Zuko.

"Actually, I know of the prisoner you're talking about," said Chit Sang causing all attention to swing towards him. "They brought him in not too long ago, nobody saw his face though before he was locked up."

"Then how do you know it was the same guy?" asked Aang.

"We were out in the courtyard at the time, when we look up to where the prisoners are first examined by the warden we see fire being sent in all directions. At first we think that the place was under attack but then something weird started happening to the fire."

"Weird, how so?" asked Hakoda.

"All fire based attacks flicker out after their use," said Chit Sang. "When an attack misses an enemy, the logical thing is to stop pumping energy into the attack and focus on the next one. Firebenders are able to manipulate fire to a certain degree but this was different. Balls of fire that should have flickered out of existence turned around in midair, circling back towards the centre of the platform. Needless to say, our cheering came to a grinding halt as we tried to figure out what was going on as all this fire returned to the platform. At one point there was a huge blast, a combination attack no doubt but it didn't look like it hit whoever the intended target was but rather moved towards them. I can't say much since we were at a terrible angle to see what was really going on but if what you say is true, then I would hazard a guess that this boy was inhaling the fire."

"If this is true, we should go there and get him," said Aang optimistically.

"That's not going to happen," declared Zuko.

"Why not?" asked Aang. "I'd love to learn from this guy the secret to eating fire."

"We didn't leave as subtly as we got there," explained Zuko. "The island would have sent for reinforcements and more guards to be sent over from the mainland. It was a fortress before, think of what it would be like now."

Sokka looked at Zuko and knew that it would be hard for the dishonoured prince to be saying such a thing considering that his girlfriend would more than likely be one of those prisoners now. He had more reason than anybody else to return but knew that the mission had to continue.

"Zuko's right," said Sokka. "I'm not going to risk everything we've worked towards in order to rescue someone who may be able to eat fire. Before you say anything Chit Sang, we don't know if this guy was eating fire or manipulating it in a way that is unique, even amongst the highest calibre of firebenders. I say we have something to eat and call it a night and focus on defeating the Fire Lord."

While some still wanted to pry into the topic more, it was clear that neither Zuko nor Sokka wanted to speak about their adventure anymore than they had to. Needless to say, the rest of the night was broken down into awkward conversations and a quickly put together meal to feed much more than they had thought at the beginning of the day.

With everyone slowly drifting off to sleep, Sokka stared at the ceiling of the centuries old temple, the past few days still weighing heavily on his mind. Yet with what was to come, he would have to put all of that behind him for the time being and help Aang and everybody else plan for their attack on the Fire Lord to end the war once and for all. After that, he would return to the Boiling Rock and rectify his mistake.

...

"Land!" exclaimed Natsu as he kissed the sand beneath his feet, grateful that the horrendous journey was over. He wasn't the only one celebrating however as the former prisoners bellowed out in joy in that they had not only escaped the wretched prison but had achieved something that none of them could have imagined a mere twenty four hours prior.

Freedom.

Mai and Ty Lee meanwhile both knew that they, along with all the fugitives, would be hunted down before long. Entire armies would be would already be searching for the vessel they had apprehended. The speed they had made would keep the pursuers off their back for the moment, the engines having been pushed past breaking point since they all knew they wouldn't be using the ship again.

Considering the vast difference in the prisoners backgrounds, they would not go down without a fight. Heck, they could very well turn out to be the first combined force consisting of three different bending abilities. Considering the battles which happened when two elements collided it was incredible to think what would happen with three elements working together.

Pity they wouldn't be around to watch it.

"We need to go," declared Mai.

"Aww, but why?" asked Ty Lee as she and her friend stepped onto the beach.

"Once Azula finds out we're not rotting in a cell, military will be the least of our problems," stated Mai. "I wouldn't put it past half these men to hand us in with for the reward she'll put for our capture."

"So its back to just the two of us then," said Ty Lee.

"Not quite," said Mai as she reached over and grabbed Natsu by the muffler, giving a harsh tug as she did so.

"Hey, careful with that," said Natsu, grateful that they weren't on anything mobile.

"Can you still track down my boyfriend?" asked Mai.

"I never forget a scent," said Natsu. "That doesn't mean that I can smell something a hundred miles away though. If we get close enough I should be able to lead you to him."

"Perfect, we leave now," declared Mai coldly.

"Just a minute, I need a full stomach first," said Natsu as he turned towards his fellow escapees. "Whoever's able to shoot fire, send it all at me right now!"

Mai and Ty Lee shared a cautionary look amongst one another as the Firebenders amongst the former prisoners lined up slowly, unsure about shooting fire at the pink haired teenager. Before they had gotten of the ship, Natsu had explained to them how he had defeated the enemies without so much as receiving a scratch or a burn. He had told them right there and then that fire couldn't burn him, which sounded more like the boy boasting something unbelievable.

Now though they were about to put that to the test.

Looking over his shoulder to make sure that both Mai and Ty Lee were out of range, Natsu then gestured for the men to unleash their strength. Seconds ticked by as the former prisoners looked between one another nervously. "Are you sure about this?" asked one of the men.

"Do it already, I'm starving!"

That was all the assurance the men needed before they punched forward, a torrent of flames escaping their fist. Many of them looked away as Natsu simply stood there, not preparing to defend himself in the slightest.

He merely inhaled.

From their position behind the pink haired boy, Mai and Ty Lee watched in disbelief as the teenager consumed the fire as if it was nothing, consuming the flames as if the scorching heat had no effect on him. As the flames died down, everyone stood there in shock at the mere fact that this boy had done the impossible. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, Natsu looked at those who had fired at him with everything they had.

"Thanks for the meal."

...

 **Hope you enjoyed**

 **Now I have a question for everybody reading and I want your opinion on this as it will affect how the rest of the story goes from here on out. Is Natsu the only person to have been teleported to the Avatar world or did the rest of the Fairy Tail members who were fighting in Edolas been transported there as well. Leave a review with your answer and in a week I'll tally up the results and figure out what to do from there. Would you like the story to focus solely on both the GAang and Natsu or would you like extra Fairy Tail characters involved. The choice is yours, as I said leave a review and I'll make my decision based on the results.**

 **Cheers**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or Fairy Tail**

...

Drawing the curtains close on their rented room, Mai looked at the mixed bag of people she was currently associating with. Firstly there was the person likely described as the most cheerful person in the world. The only time Mai had seen Ty Lee anything other than the bubble of pure joy that she was was at Ember Island when they had gone on holiday with her ex-boyfriend and her ex-friend. Above anything though she knew that Ty Lee wouldn't abandon her now that the two of them were fugitives running from the Nation they had once called home. The wanted posters they had seen when entering the inn that they had selected for the night's accommodation had done a decent job of capturing their likeliness. Quite a bit of gold had changed hands in order to ensure that the innkeep wouldn't rat them out to the authorities.

Also Natsu's threats had helped a great deal.

The pink haired teenager was still something of an enigma to Mai. The boy was strong, far stronger than either herself or Ty Lee and she was glad that he was fighting alongside them. His abilities were also unheard of; it was no surprise that he had been locked up in solitary confinement at her uncle's former prison. He did have several glaring weaknesses however, the first was that he had motion sickness of the highest order. Whether it had been the ship, gondola, heck even the drawn carriage they had hijacked, each type of transport rendered him utterly helpless and at the mercy of his opponents. It was only due to his ridiculous heat resistance that he survived the fall into the boiling lake.

"Well, now that we've made ourselves comfortable, why don't we figure out how to avoid capture," Mai said blandly as she took a seat on the queen sized mattress. "Our gold will only last us so long before we can't rely on bribery."

"Beat the shit out of everybody?" suggested Natsu.

"I think that would only attract more attention," said Mai with a sigh.

"I think we need to cross the border into the Earth Kingdom," said Ty Lee as she sat next to Mai.

"You do know it's roughly twelve days walk to get us anywhere close to the border," said Mai rubbing at her eyes. "Your idea does have merit however and is something we should look into. If we were able to get ourselves a ride it would cut the time down substantially."

"I'm fine with walking," stated Natsu quickly.

"Doesn't mean that we are," said Mai dryly. "You'll have to suffer whatever transport we acquire."

"Are there any other options we could look into, maybe catch up with your boyfriend and his mate that broke into the prison in the first place," suggested Natsu.

"Ex," corrected Mai.

"The thing about that group is that they could be anywhere," said Ty Lee as she crossed her legs. "We spent the better part of our time with Azula chasing the Avatar and his friends down. Sometimes it's easy to figure out where they are and sometimes it's nearly impossible. Plus at that time we had all of the power a princess could offer instead of running like fugitives."

"Well if we really wanted to make Azula suffer that would be the better plan," said Mai. "We also have to consider that if we were to try and cross the border that there will be patrols we'd have to fight our way past. I have no doubt that we'd be successful against a couple of squadrons, the army protecting the border may not be quite as simple."

"So we're tracking down this Avatar fellow then," said Natsu.

"From your lack of knowledge on the Avatar, I take it you're not from here," said Mai.

"Like everybody knows about the Avatar, how come you don't?" asked Ty Lee.

"You could say that I don't come from here, wherever here is," said Natsu as he put his hands behind his head and leaned against the wall. "I come from Fiore."

"Never heard of it," said Mai.

"Just like I haven't heard about the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation and all that stuff," said Natsu. "I was on a mission one day and I got hit with something solid, knocked me out cold, next thing I know I'm waking up surrounded by the army. Since I was confused I went on the attack straight away, beat 'em up and ask questions later. I was too weak however and when they arrested me they tossed me straight in the cell, no questions asked."

"So why were you in isolation then as opposed to being able to go into the yard with the rest of the prisoners?" asked Ty Lee.

"When I got to the island I wasn't in the happiest of moods and kinda lashed out, nearly broke the warden's nose. They tried to contain me with fire but I ate it in front of them and they figured I needed special accommodation."

"Makes sense," said Mai. "Last thing the guards needed was for a riot to break out and you're there able to prevent any attacks from hitting the other cell mates."

"So you're all better now," said Ty Lee.

"Yea I'm at a hundred percent again," said Natsu as he raised his fist in front of his face and it burst into flames as if to prove his point.

"Well our next plan will be to try and figure out where Zuko and that will go next," said Ty Lee.

"Zuko will tell them where to go, he knows the area better," said Mai. "They'd need to go somewhere private that they can continue to train without being disturbed or found out."

"Well does his family have a getaway somewhere they could abuse?" asked Natsu causing Mai and Ty Lee to look at one another in understanding.

"Great, we've got to go back there," said Mai.

"You know where he is?" asked Natsu.

"Going off your theory, he's going to hide the Avatar on Ember Island," said Mai.

"Ember Island," repeated Natsu.

"Even if he's not there, it's a good place for us to hideout until the heat dies down," said Ty Lee. "The place is basically a resort island where all the big wigs have private houses and own the beach in front of them. Zuko's place is effectively the biggest and they would be hidden since the property they own essentially forbids anybody from going anywhere near it under punishment of death."

"Sounds great," said Natsu cheekily. "How long will it take us to get there?"

"A solid day's ride should get us to the sea and then it's a day trip on a boat."

"Two days of transport! I'm going to be sick just thinking about that."

"Well you could always swim there," said Mai sarcastically.

"Great plan," said Natsu approving of this new development causing Ty Lee to giggle. "Now, I'd say pack your bags and get ready to leave but since we don't own anything that's not too much trouble."

"Pack, why?" asked Ty Lee.

"Cause we've got company," said Natsu moments before the door to their apartment exploded in a shower of debris. When the dust settled, Natsu, Mai and Ty Lee remained still as the room was filled with mercenaries hell bent on collecting the large bounties casually resting in front of them.

"Pfft, you wimps aren't even gonna put up a fight," said one of them brandishing a pair of trench knives. "Easy money is easy money and if you're gonna come with us nicely..."

That was all the man got out before pain exploded through his body as Natsu's fist buried itself into his ribs, breaking the bones as if they were made of glass. "Who's next?" said Natsu as his fists burst into flame and the room erupted in chaos.

...

 **Hey there, sorry about the delay. Thanks to everyone who submitted a review discussing whether or not more characters from the Fairy Tail world should be added. I looked at every one of them and contemplated each option laid out before me (many of which I hadn't considered until I'd seen the reviews). At the end of the day I decided to go with just Natsu being sent into the world, mostly just because it's so close to the end of the season that it would be difficult to incorporate more characters in such a short amount of time. Again, thanks to everyone who submitted a review and helped decide what path this story would take from now on.**

 **Peace**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or Fairy Tail**

 **...**

Zuko looked at the island in the distance which would be their new home until the inevitable finale. It seemed only yesterday since he had stepped foot onto the island with both his deranged sister and his ex-girlfriend, one of which he wished he never saw again and the other he wished he could see every day.

Thankfully his silent muse was cut short as Katara and Aang constructed a fine mist to blanket over the area, hiding them as they got closer to Ember Island. Taking a seat next to Toph, he quickly recollected the conversation which had broken down the previous evening where they were all in agreeance that their current location wasn't the best to stage their assault on the Fire Nation from. He had been the one to suggest the island stating clearly that it was a retreat holiday destination and that they'd have minimal interaction with soldiers or guards. He also had made mention that the Fire Lord owned a good chunk of the island so they would be able to practice their techniques without distraction.

The only other feasible option that had been brought up was underground (courtesy of Sokka). Thankfully it was outvoted.

Zuko had thought it odd that when Sokka's idea had been shut down he hadn't whinged and moaned about how his plan was better but rather just accept what was going on. He wasn't the only one to notice, Katara had been somewhat dissuaded by what was going on and had questioned him about it later in private. The results of that conversation weren't shared with the rest of the party.

"Alright guys, we're going to land on the beach in a few minutes," announced Aang as he veered Appa to the right. Zuko had been quite clear that the best area to land was on his father's private beach which took up the entire Northern section of the island. Nobody ever trespassed under punishment of death. Even if there was nobody patrolling the area the threat still hung in the air.

The only downside that anybody could come up with was that by sitting on the island they would be unable to rally any forces that could aide them against the Fire Nation. There was no way to even tell them that the battle they would be fighting would be dozens of times worse considering the comets effect on the power wielded by Firebenders.

Anybody caught unaware would be massacred.

With a soft thud and a roar, Appa successfully landed on the beach much to Toph's delight as she leapt down off the flying bison in order to 'see' once more. Immediately though she felt something was off. "I thought you said this place was deserted," she said as the rest of the party disembarked.

"It is, nobody ever comes here," said Zuko wondering just what was going on.

"Then why are there footprints leading up to your house?" asked Toph, the cautiousness in her voice forcing everybody to quickly get on guard.

"Anybody got a vendetta against your family?" asked Katara.

"The rest of the world," said Zuko in something reminiscent of sarcasm. More recently, and the only ones probably stupid enough to try anything, were the party hosts whom they'd destroyed the inside of their family villa. Good times.

Unsheathing his meteorite sword, Sokka looked to the side and located the footprints that Toph was talking about. "Looks like there's three people here," he said. "Can you feel anybody in the area Toph?"

"There's one person in your house," she said looking at Zuko.

"The other two must have gone to town in order to get supplies or something," said Zuko.

"You think they're expecting us?" asked Aang.

"Doubt it, they're not going to have forged a siege here for days and then spend their spare time playing on the beach," said Sokka.

"So what's the plan?" asked Katara.

"Sokka, Katara and Toph, wait here with Appa, last thing we need is for him to get ambushed while we're fighting in there," said Aang.

"Point taken," said Sokka knowing that if they lost Appa whether due to injury or some other reason then they would be stuck on the island with no way to battle the Fire Lord.

"Zuko, lead the way," said Aang.

"Right," said Zuko as he started running forward, Aang hot on his heels.

"Damn it, I wanted to be part of the action," said Sokka in defeat.

"Moody and twinkle toes will be fine," said Toph as she slammed her foot down and constructed herself a seat made out of the sand. Taking a resting position she pulled her hands behind her head and spat to the side.

"That's a disgusting habit you know," said Katara.

"All the more reason to do it," said Toph.

"Anybody want to help me unpack?" asked Sokka as he sheathed his sword. Seeing the unresponsiveness between the two girls (Katara already heading down to the water while Toph just sat in silence), Sokka exhaled a sigh of annoyance as he climbed back on top of Appa to collect their belongings.

...

"Any ideas who it could be?" asked Aang as he and Zuko hid in the foliage close to the house Zuko called his Family's Holiday Retreat. It was bigger than some of the smaller towns Aang had seen.

"Whoever it is, I doubt they're friendly," said Zuko. "Best plan is just to charge straight in while we have the element of surprise, catch them off guard and prevent a fight from breaking out. Nobody's really looked after the place in years so if we start fighting we might bring the roof down on our heads."

"Got it," said Aang as he braced himself.

"On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"

Aang and Zuko sprinted forward but only got a couple dozen feet before the door they were about to barge through slid open, revealing the intruder. Realizing they no longer had the element of surprise, Zuko gripped his fists in tight creating small daggers of flame as he closed the distance between himself and his opponent. Aang opted to hang back knowing there was no point throwing big powerful moves when he could potentially hit his ally.

The Avatar however never expected Zuko to be overpowered so easily, a fist clad in flames hitting the former Prince of the Fire Nation square in the face and knocking him back to where Aang was. The Avatar had to shake his head back and forth momentarily in order to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"You alright?" asked Aang.

Ignoring the stupid comment, Zuko got back to his feet and braced himself once more as their opponent cockily walked forward. Even though their encounter had been brief and over in only a handful of seconds Zuko knew that there was no point in trying to hold back. Both he and Aang were going to have to go all out off the bat in order to defeat this person barely older than themselves.

"Come on now, I'm just starting to get fired up. Show me what you can do."

...

"Guys, I think they're in trouble," shouted Toph getting both Katara and Sokka's attention.

"What, no way," said Sokka in disbelief knowing just how strong both Aang and Zuko were.

"Why do you say that?" asked Katara as she rushed up from the water's edge. As if to answer her question, a torrent of flames exploded upwards from where their friend had gone.

"That."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or Fairy Tail**

 **...**

In hindsight, it had probably been wishful thinking that everything would be alright when they returned. Nothing was ever so simple however, especially not for them. With food in hand, Mai and Ty Lee looked at the battle taking place in front of them. On one side was the pink haired buffoon whom they had ventured to Ember Island with, the days of motion sickness having worn off as he fought with the vigor they had seen him battle with. His opponents were just as familiar, for better or for worse was yet to be clear.

Aang and Zuko worked in surprisingly good synchronicity as they tried all manner of combination attacks against Natsu, the pink haired fire eater having an infuriating smile plastered across his face the entire time. Zuko, predictably, was pissed at the friendly nature of his opponent who was more than happy to remain on the defensive as if simply enjoying the battle going on. Other than the first punch which had nearly broken his nose, the pink haired boy hadn't even struck out at them with anything other than playful counters, moves that just enforced the belief that he could crush them if he so wished.

Natsu meanwhile had not had so much fun in ages as he dodged chunks of land and streams of water that were thrown his way by the bald kid with the funky looking tattoos. If his brief history of the land was anything to go by, which meant that the kid was the Avatar (at least he hoped he wasn't confusing the saviour of the world for another bald kid). Ty Lee had been more than happy in their history lesson to teach him about how the Avatar was destined to save the world, or so the legend went. As such, he felt it was within his right to test the skill of the world saviour, to ensure that he was up to scratch.

An unexpected blast of wind caught him in the chest, sending him crashing into a tree where Mai and Ty Lee were standing, their appearance having seemingly brought an abrupt halt to the fight. "Mai," said Zuko in disbelief as he watched in mild shock as she gripped the pink haired teen by the ear and pulled him to his feet.

"Really?" said Natsu in annoyance as Mai released him.

"Really, if you'd brought the roof down we'd be without a place to stay…again," said Mai before focusing her attention on her ex. "Hello Zuko."

"But, how?" said Zuko, unable to form coherent sentences.

"If you're wondering why I'm not rotting away on the Boiling Rock you have this one to blame," said Mai gesturing at Natsu. Before any further explanation could be given in regards to any part of the situation a rustling in the bush gave way as Sokka, Katara, Suki and Toph all burst onto the scene. While the group had been informed of the assistance given to Sokka and Zuko by Mai at the Boiling Rock, it was still a bit disorientating seeing her standing in front of them.

"Alright, someone needs to start explaining now," said Toph clearly wanting to know why there were so many former enemies standing around as if in a Mexican Standoff. Also she had no idea who the new guy was and she didn't know what to make of him at the moment.

Natsu meanwhile was pointing at Sokka while looking at Mai. "See, we found your boyfriend after all," he said.

"That's not my boyfriend," stated Mai in her typical deadpan voice.

"What?"

"The one you were fighting is my ex," she explained.

"Alright, now I'm confused," said Natsu scratching at the back of his head.

"Okay, everybody calm down for a minute as we try to figure out what's going on," said Aang trying to play peacemaker.

"Ty Lee will explain my alliance, I'm going to get started on dinner," said Mai ignoring the tension in the air as she started walking towards the entrance only for a large slab of stone to rise up from the ground and block her path. "Do you mind?"

"You think you can just walk off without any kind of explanation," said Toph preparing for a fight.

"I gave you my explanation," said Mai. "I'm not going to run off and tell the local authorities that fugitives are staying in the Fire Lord's summer house. After all, I'm about as wanted as you lot these days."

"I'll keep an eye on her," declared Zuko as he walked up to Ty Lee and grabbed the rest of the shopping off her. Toph sighed as she dropped the wall she had created back into the Earth, granting Mai free passage as Zuko trailed just behind her. Once they were inside she slammed her foot on the ground causing half a dozen stone chairs to burst out of the ground.

"Might as well get comfortable," she said as she took a seat.

"You call this comfortable?" said Sokka as he attempted to take a seat only for the chair to vanish underneath him.

"You can have the floor then," said Toph, Sokka grumbling in annoyance before focusing his attention on Natsu, the former prisoner of the Boiling Rock looking as jovial as when he had last seen him. Somehow he, along with Mai and Ty Lee had managed to escape the unescapable prison likely only hours after they had broken the warden's previously flawless record. Needless to say, whatever explanation was given it was going to be more than just a little interesting.

…

Mai worked diligently in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables at a rate like which none Zuko had ever seen. Considering her skill with a knife though he knew better than to be surprised. "I thought you came with me to help me cook dinner," she stated not having looked up from her work.

"I came in to keep an eye on you," said Zuko.

"For their benefit or your own," said Mai as she put down the knife she had been using, Zuko mildly relieved that Mai had disarmed herself.

"Look, I know I did some stupid stuff lately," said Zuko sheepishly.

"You broke up with me."

"Yea."

"With a piece of paper."

"Yea."

"Then to top it all off you locked me in a prison cell."

"I know alright!" shouted Zuko, his anger having gradually been building. It all sapped away however as he felt a gentle palm on his face, soft skin pressed lightly against the scar which surrounded his left eye.

"Last time we were here on the beach when you said you were angry at yourself, that you didn't know right from wrong," said Mai. "While it may not have been showing later on, I believe you still didn't know who you were. You sat at your father's right side during a war meeting and you seemed conflicted. I believe that was the moment that you knew you were fighting on the wrong side. If this is who you are now, know that I will support you."

Zuko turned his gaze to the ground, almost ashamed that Mai could read him so well. "I also recall that you were positively bubbly, fruit tart with rose petals if I remember correctly," said Zuko flashing a cheeky smile.

"I'm allowed to be happy once in a while," scowled Mai.

"Does this make you happy?" asked Zuko as he leant in closer, Mai showing no resistance as he pressed his lips against her own in a soft yet passionate kiss. It lasted barely a second before he pulled away, unsure whether that was the right move to make.

"It's a start," said Mai, the smallest smile crossing her lips. "Now help me with dinner, portions are going to be small since we only thought we'd have to cook for three."

"We'll send the waterbenders for fish later," suggested Zuko as he set about working in the kitchen, a brief glance to the side reminding him that the last time he had stepped foot in here he had burned family portraits. Perhaps in the future he would have a family portrait he wasn't ashamed of.

…

"You were raised by a dragon?" said Aang in disbelief, Natsu having just concluded his background story.

"You never told me that," said Ty Lee.

"You never asked," retorted Natsu. "Igneel taught me everything but then one day he simply vanished."

"Do you have any idea where he went?" asked Katara.

"I chased every lead I could and nothing. A couple of my guild mates, Wendy and Gajeel, their dragons went missing as well on the same day," said Natsu.

"Hold on, let me get this straight," said Sokka still sitting on the floor. "Not only did you get taught by a giant fire breathing dragon but so did your friends?"

"Actually, Igneel was the only fire dragon I know of," said Natsu. "Gajeel's was the metal dragon and Wendy's was the sky dragon."

"Can you teach me any of what Igneel taught you?" asked Aang.

"From what we've been told, hothead over there uses fire differently from what any of the firebenders we've fought do," said Toph as she picked at her nose. "I think, just from that, his powers may be impossible for you or Zuko to learn."

Before anybody else could continue the conversation, the door to the house opened up with Zuko standing there. "Aang, Katara, are you two able to go get us some fish?" he asked.

"Sure, Natsu, would you like to come?" Aang asked of the Dragon Slayer.

"Fishing, like on a boat?" said Natsu starting to feel queasy from the mere thought.

"No, we'll ride on Appa," stated Aang.

"Appa?"

"My flying bison," answered Aang.

"Oh can I come?" asked Ty Lee. "It always looked like so much fun when we were chasing you."

Katara looked mildly sceptical about allowing Azula's former friend onboard; Aang meanwhile had no objections. "Sure you can come," he said before hopping out of his chair, Katara and Ty Lee mimicking his movements as they headed towards the beach. Sokka saw this as his chance to claim a chair of his own but as he went to sit down on the one his sister had just vacated it sunk into the ground once more.

"Real funny Toph," he said as he rubbed at his lower back before directing his attention towards Natsu. "So, Igneel taught you how to fight?"

"Pretty much," said Natsu as he lifted up his fist before it became covered in flames, Zuko's eyebrows rising at the scene in front of him.

"So what, your skin is like dragon scales?" asked the banished prince.

"Guess you could call it that," said Natsu. "Not sure if that means my stomach is made of dragon scales either."

"You can eat fire?" asked Suki.

Sokka's eyes sharpened as he glared at Natsu, knowing full well that it was because of that theory that he had been such a high security prisoner at the Boiling Rock. He watched as Natsu stood up and beckoned Zuko to join him where everyone could see. "Are you sure about this?" asked Zuko as he raised his palm skyward and a small jet of flame shot upwards. Or at least it did for a handful of seconds before the flames moved like magic, Natsu inhaling deeply before swallowing the flames.

"Oh yea, I'm sure," said Natsu with a cheeky grin after having finished his meal.

"Wow," said Suki not really having been expecting what she had seen. Being told about such an ability and actually seeing it in person were completely different things. Sokka mindset meanwhile was thinking about just how much of an asset Natsu would be when they finally confronted the Fire Lord.

Maybe, just maybe they'd be able to win this after all.

…

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

...

"Natsu, can I speak with you for a moment?" asked Zuko, the banished prince from the Fire Nation trying to get the attention of the wizard from another realm or dimension. Even after all this time they were no closer to figuring out just where the son of Igneel was from other than the fact that he wasn't from this world. No record they had found on the island had any mention of 'Earthland,' though they had never believed they would have found much to begin with. Sokka had made mention that they could potentially find something in Wan Shi Tong's Library before remembering that it was buried beneath tonnes of sand. He had spent the rest of the day moping.

"Sure, what is it?" asked Natsu as he followed Zuko through the halls of the Fire Lord's vacation home. Eventually they stopped in the courtyard, well away from where the rest of the group was currently gathered.

"I know you're looking for a way home, even if you haven't said anything about it," said Zuko as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Whenever Sokka says something about the Southern Water Tribe, or Aang says something about the Air Temples, you get a sense of longing in your eyes if only for a moment. I know the look, I had it in my own eyes the day after I had been banished from the Fire Nation. In those times where I was out of the eyes of my uncle and my crew, in those most private moments I looked into the mirror and gazed hard into my eyes. I wanted to go home, I wanted to be accepted by my father and walk the compound I was born in to."

Natsu said nothing but started fidgeting with the scarf that was ever present around his neck. That was all the notification that Zuko needed to know that he was right on the money. "I know the situations are different but similar at the same time," continued Zuko. "The thing is you are probably the biggest advantage we have in the war to come, even more so than Aang. The rest of them don't know what's coming, I haven't been able to gather the strength to tell them just what they are going to be fighting yet. The reason I haven't thought of telling them is because of you. Natsu, you are more than an asset in the coming battle, you are the person who can win this war!"

Again, Natsu said nothing although he was seething slightly at the idea that Zuko was keeping information away from the rest of the group. He had been on enough missions where he and those he had been with had been without all of the necessary information. The most recent time was Lucy's first mission where the people who had issued the mission had lied about their identity. It was a small deficit in information but the sole fact that in other circumstances a lack of intel could result in terrible consequences. He had heard stories of how solo missions and even teams had been caught unawares and fallen into precarious circumstances.

He did his best to prevent those memories from surfacing to close to the surface. Seeing his friends, his guild, his family, hurt because information had been withheld or blatantly lied about. It didn't sit well with him.

"The Fire Lord had you locked away in such strict conditions for a reason, I was part of his council, even if it was only for a short time yet your name never came up," said Zuko. "Simply put, you didn't exist and even now the bounty posters issued for all of us don't explain just what you are capable of. The average fire nation soldier trying to capture you will be ill informed and unprepared. If they knew that you could eat fire, the backbone of the entire fire nation army! Only ten percent of their forces aren't firebenders and rely on skills with a sword or spear. Ten percent of the largest military force in the world is all that can stand in your way!"

"What's your point?" asked Natsu, sick of Zuko beating around the bush.

"My point," said the former prince, his voice rising slightly. "Is that when the time comes where we stand against the largest army the Elemental world has ever seen, if there is a chance, a single idea that you could potentially return home, would you abandon us and take it?"

Natsu couldn't help but swallow the lump that had formed in his throat at that final comment. As Zuko had pointed out, he wanted to go home so badly but did his best to keep it hidden from the rest of them. They had a world to look after, they were trying to a single nation from ruling over all those who didn't bow down before them. Of course he was willing and ready to fight against such an oppressive force. If, by some chance, a path opened up for him to go back home at the same time, what choice would he make? Considering how long he had chased after the shadow of Igneel across towns and ports where he couldn't possibly be. He'd been chasing a dream then and if the dream of returning home appeared in front of him, despite how unlikely it may be, would he still chase it?

He couldn't answer.

As much as he wanted to, he wanted to tell Zuko that he would still be here with them when the battle began, if only to run rampant through the Fire Nation armies. He loved the thrill of battle, he had fought against the freaking Magic Council's army to try and prevent Jellal from being arrested. Those were impossible odds that would have seen him incarcerated for life but he had challenged them anyway, if only to see Erza happy.

The mere thought of seeing Erza again caused him to pause once more, his answer more insecure than it had ever been. When he had first arrived in this world he had thought more of the how he had gotten here, trying to toss his mind back to just how he had arrived and had thought he would discover the way back that way. Weeks of solitary isolation had driven his thought process away and now all he could remember regarding what happened just before he had found himself in the Elemental Nations was challenging Acnologia. Their assault on the black dragon of destruction was fruitless, their efforts mere insect bites against a being of such power. They had continued their assault however, knowing full well they either left Terujima as a guild, or died as a guild.

Natsu could still see the blast of pure energy large enough to vaporize them and the island they were standing on as he held hands with his family.

"So what'll it be!" shouted Zuko, demanding an answer from their secret weapon.

"This is a mission," said Natsu, conviction resonating in his voice. "Just like the hundreds of missions I've accepted before, I will see this through to the end one way or another. If some way back home does pop up, I can only assume that another one will pop up somewhere along the line. You don't have to worry about my determination to see this through to the end."

Zuko took a few seconds to absorb what Natsu had said before allowing himself to exhale a loud sigh. There was a clear understanding in that one moment where both of them knew that that wasn't the true answer. Only when and if the time came would the true answer to that precarious question be answered.

Thankfully before anymore could be said between the two of them, they were distracted as Aang burst onto the scene, a cloud of smoke and dust behind him showing just what manner of speed he had been achieving. "Guys, Sokka and Suki just found out that there's going to be a play on tonight about us and the journey that's happened since I was unfrozen," declared Aang, basically bouncing from excitement.

"A play?" repeated Zuko.

"Not interested," said Natsu as he started walking away, picking at a bit of gunk in his ear. Aang seemed disheartened at the news but guessed that because Natsu wouldn't feature in much or any of the production he didn't want to see it. "Zuko, I recommend letting them know just what it is that will be coming their way in the war to come. Doesn't have to be today, doesn't have to be tomorrow, but if you don't tell them what you know then it is possible that everyone here will die."

Aang swallowed nervously as he wondered just what kind of conversation he had stumbled across but a glare from Zuko quickly informed him that it would be better to stay quiet on that topic for the moment. "I guess I should go, it should be a good time for me to rebuild whatever relationship that I still have with Mai," said Zuko.

"Let me know how it goes," said Natsu as he started walking off casually, all of the tension that had been present barely a minute earlier either gone or pushed beneath the surface. Zuko made no move to stop him but couldn't help but wonder why when Natsu had been speaking he hadn't told him to tell everyone as opposed to just 'them.'

...

Ty Lee walked along the beach, the waves lapping at the shoreline as her feet glided across the sand leaving footprints awaiting to be consumed by the tide. Unlike the rest of the group, she had not believed that sitting in front of the Ember Island Players (whom she had heard from Mai was a tragic act, hence the reason she likely went) for a couple of hours was entertainment. With the group as big as it was, she was happy to get the time alone.

Last time she had been on this beach during the evening, Zuko had proclaimed tat she was likely destined to spend the rest of her life living inside of the 'Ty Lee' world where, and she quoted, 'everything was great all the time.' She had then gone on to reveal so much of herself, breaking down all of her walls and barriers to finally express what she had truly felt.

It had been exhilarating.

For all of three minutes.

Then, just like that, the barriers were up again. What was spoken on this very beach would likely never get spoken of again. One of those people she had shared those painful thoughts with was now her enemy and she couldn't help but wonder whether Azula would strike at her family in order to get to her. Such a thing would be easy to do, the bigger question though was how would she react to it? She hadn't seen nor spoken to her family for years, she hadn't even thought about them in so long. Did they miss her? Had they tried to find her?

Did it matter?

That final question caused Ty Lee to stop in her tracks as she failed to hesitate to answer. She couldn't help but feel the tears threatening to fall as she wondered how much of her current life she would have to give up just to spend one night embraced by her family. Just one night.

Her thoughts became scrambled as she heard the wailing of Appa, her eyes lighting up as she saw Natsu wrestling with the giant animal. "Come on," grumbled Natsu as he fought with the reigns, his own strength having been enough to drag the flying bison to the beach so far.

"What are you doing?" asked Ty Lee as she ran up to confront the fire eater.

"This isn't what it looks like," said Natsu, his strength waning for a second, resulting in Appa gaining the upper hand and pulling back, Natsu lunging forward and crashing face first into the sand. His head burst from the beach a second later, the pink haired fighter coughing out a mouthful of sand in the process.

"It kind of looks like you're trying to take Appa for a ride and don't know how," said Ty Lee as she crossed her arms.

"And like you know how to," said Natsu as he brushed the sand off of his face.

"As a matter of fact I do, Aang taught me," said Ty Lee recalling the brief lesson that the last Airbender had given her.

"Great, then you'd be able to give me a lift right."

"A lift? Where are you going?" asked Ty Lee wondering where Natsu wanted to go at this time of night. The devilish grin that he sent her way caused shivers to run down her spine as he answered.

"To war."

...

Hours would pass before the performance of 'The Boy in the Iceberg' came to a close, the performance being cringe worthy as Zuko had predicted it would have been. It had been Toph who had first discovered something was wrong, her sense of the world around them alerting them that Appa was nowhere within her range of 'sight.' The group had quickly feared that they had been found out but arriving at their temporary headquarters revealed no members of the Fire Nation Army.

What they did find however was a note.

"' _Gone to beat up the Fire Lord, see you soon. Natsu,'"_ read Katara, the small piece of paper informing everyone of what the out of world warrior had gone and done. There was silence as all the rest of the group questioned what their next move would be.

...

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Damn it felt so good to get this chapter done and hopefully it won't take as long to bang out the next one (no promises). If you want to keep up to date with my writing/musings/daily life, I do have a twitter you can follow, the link is in my profile.**

 **Til next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar The Last Airbender**

...

Appa had arrived only an hour earlier, the flying bison carrying neither Natsu or Ty Lee back on it's return journey, making an exclamation point regarding the fact that Natsu had not made the journey back to the mainland alone. "What's the plan?" asked Toph, the blind Earthbender breaking the ice as the group of people sat around the fire which danced in the breeze.

"What plan?" asked Mai in response. "You had a group of people gathered from all corners of the globe ready to fight the impossible fight. That's not a plan, that's betting everything on luck."

"Betting on luck is better than betting on nothing at all," said Sokka. "A few years back, almost every corner of the world had given up hope that the Avatar would come back and now, the Fire Nation knows that Aang is possibly the only person who can stop them."

"But I'm not ready!" proclaimed the last Airbender forcing all attention on to him. "I've barely mastered Waterbending, let alone Earth and Firebending."

There were a few moments silence as these words were digested by those sitting around the campfire. "So how are you planning on confronting my father before Sozin's Comet?" asked Zuko.

"That's not the plan anymore," said Katara. "The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before Sozin's Comet came about was to prevent the Fire Nation from winning the war. At this point, the war is pretty much over."

"So you plan on fighting back against the winning side once the fight is over? What a stupid plan," commented Mai garnering a few venomous looks for her point of view. Taking in a deep breathe, Mai decided to clarify her statement. "You have the Avatar, so what? You're asking a barely pubescent boy to tackle the entire force of the Fire Kingdom with only a handful of allies to help him not only shift the gears of war, but end it. Frankly, you're asking too much."

"You're wrong!" shouted Katara but before she could continue her brother cut in.

"No, Mai's right," said Sokka as he fully took in what Mai had been saying.

"What are you saying?" asked Suki.

"There are seven of us prepared to fight and overthrow an entire nation," said Sokka, several embers flickering against the darkness as his eyes sharpened. "There's no guarantee we'll even be able to confront the Fire Lord let alone be in a position to get the people to accept Zuko to accept him as the new Fire Lord."

"Me? The new Fire Lord?" asked Zuko, more to himself than anybody around. He hadn't taken anytime to actually think of what would become of the Fire Nation once his father was defeated, on the proviso he was actually accepted as the Fire Lord after his father was overthrown. Frankly he didn't know what would happen after Aang defeated his father, if Aang actually managed to defeat his father.

"Who else would it be?" asked Aang.

Zuko momentarily thought about his uncle but after the prison break he hadn't heard anything from the war veteran. Knowing his uncle, Iroh could be anywhere from creating a rebellion of his own to sitting in some tea shop playing Pai Sho. Arguably it was difficult to decide which would be more beneficial at this point. "For a second let's believe that after the war I become the Fire Lord, just how are we planning on winning the war in the first place?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on fighting the Fire Lord until after the comet," said Aang sending a chilling message to those who hadn't known the plan.

"That may not be an option," said Zuko before he regaled everyone in what the Fire Lord had planned, how Fire Lord Ozai planned to use his airships on the day when Sozin's comet was closest to the planet. The other shuddered in fear as they heard how Ozai planned to use the power of the comet to effectively wipe the Earth Kingdom off the map and with it all resistance to his reign. The idea that the Fire Nation was willing to burn all those opposing it brought Katara to her knees and caused Sokka to shake his head in disgust.

"So what do we do?" asked Aang.

"The comet is still a week away at least," said Zuko, using a stick he picked up to mark it into the dirt in front of him. "On that day he plans to use a fleet of airships to effectively scorch the Earth Kingdom into dust. I don't know where he means to strike but it'll likely be on the West coast of the Earth Kingdom, closest to where the Fire Nation is. It would be beneficial, in my mind if we could get word to any Earthbenders to create walls or some manner of reinforcements around small villages most likely in the line of fire. Every life spared is better than nothing."

"What about ground troops?" asked Sokka. "Won't the Fire Nation also be trying to strike from the ground along with the air?"

"To a degree, yes," said Zuko as he marked a giant 'X' in his timeline. "But there is one factor yet that we haven't yet put into play."

"Ty Lee and Natsu," said Aang, sparing a quick glance towards the flying bison which had been with him for almost his entire journey.

"Exactly," said Zuko as he started drawing lines around the giant 'X.' "If we know Natsu as well as we do, if he hasn't already gotten into conflict he will manage to have done so by tomorrow at the latest."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Suki.

"Zuko's right, if there is anything we can count on at this stage, it's Natsu drawing the attention of the Fire Nation," said Sokka.

…

"So how far until we reach the Fire Palace Nation thing?" asked Natsu, his foot planted on the back of a defeated Fire Nation Soldier, a score of hundreds of defeated warriors in his wake.

"From my reckoning, given where Appa dropped us off," said Ty Lee as she took in the landscape, "I reckon we could reach the capital in about five days. That, of course is dependent on the resistance we face."

"Is it going to be any harder than this?" asked Natsu looking back on the hundreds of Fire Nation warriors that had been taken off guard by the fact he could eat the main part of their arsenal. He did have to admit though that Ty Lee had played a crucial part, he had had no idea that her fighting style actually negated the strength of Fire Benders. Didn't really faze him that much but knowing that a chunk of the force would be negated was beneficial.

"They likely know that we're here," said Ty Lee, realizing that if the Fire Nation didn't know that they were there it would be even stranger. "That being said, the best they will send at us is maybe bounty hunters since we wiped out two platoons and will probably realize that we are more than your average resistance."

"That being said, why did you decide to help me?" asked Natsu looking back at the former circus performer who had decided to join him on his quest to put an end to this war with his fists.

Ty Lee paused for a second as she weighed up her answer. It would have been so easy to ride Appa back to Ember Island and leave Natsu to do his thing. Yet she had decided to stay and fight the impossible fight alongside him. But why? For the glory? The fame? The fact she could show off to her sisters that she had been a part of saving the world?

It was hard to tell.

"Cause you'd be lost without me," she answered, having had full experience of Natsu's struggle with transportation when riding aboard Appa. It was a good answer considering if it hadn't been for her, Natsu likely would have decided to jump overboard as opposed to staying atop the flying bison the entire time.

"Fine, fine," said Natsu shaking it off, ignoring the fact that he would likely be lost without Ty Lee. "Anyways, where to next?"

"Well," said Ty Lee as she looked at a map she had managed to scrounge from one of the broken bodies around her. "Roughly about four, maybe five miles west into the forest we should come across another outpost, likely not that heavily guarded but will probably have some manner of transport to get us towards the capital quicker."

"So, ignoring the outpost it is," said Natsu, grimacing in his tracks as Ty Lee gripped on to his ear and started pulling him in.

"Come on you, a little bit of transport never hurt anybody," said Ty Lee as she started dragging Natsu in the direction of the outpost, the fire eater whinging all of the way.

...

"Judging by the fact that Appa returned in so short a time means that Natsu and Ty Lee mustn't have gone too far into the mainland," said Zuko.

"So let's go find them," said Aang, getting to his feet and pumping his fist.

"No," said Sokka.

"Why, we should be fighting the Fire Lord together," said Aang.

"I'm agreeing with Sokka on this one," said Toph. "The two of them will be fine on their own, if anything we might even get in the way. I could feel the fight that you two had against Natsu," she said giving her blank stare towards both Aang and Zuko. "He's going to go in, beat up a lot of people and make it easier for us."

"For now, we should look at how we can use this to our advantage," said Sokka as he drew an impromptu map in the dirt, a terrible representation of the Fire Nation but it served its purpose. "Sozin's comet is almost here and with it comes the end of the world as we know it. We can assume that Ty Lee and Natsu are making havoc somewhere around here." An 'X' was drawn on the point closest to where Ember Island was. "You guys know anything around this area?"

"A whole lot of nothing," declared Mai.

"A few smaller villages, some outposts here and there," corrected Zuko.

"And what will happen if those outposts stop making their reports for a day?" asked Sokka.

"There's a fortified garrison located here," said Zuko, marking the map with his own stick. "Protocol demands that if these outposts don't report back by the evening that a platoon is sent out to investigate. With the number of outposts that may not be reporting in, we can almost assume that the garrison would almost be empty."

"Should we strike when nobody's there?" asked Suki.

"If we were waging a longer war, maybe," said Zuko. "For now though it doesn't hold any real advantage for us. What it does mean for us though is that we can travel straight through the middle towards the Capital with less chance of being spotted."

"We'd still want to travel at night though wouldn't we," stated Katara. "All it takes is for one person to see us and then everybody knows we're heading straight at the Fire Lord."

"So we're set then, tomorrow evening we can sneak past here and set up camp in a cave located close to the capital. If Natsu's still raging along the coast even soldiers from the Capital will have to be deployed. If we time this right, we can stop everything before the comet even gets here," declared Sokka.

"Are you up for it Aang?" asked Katara.

"Up for what?" asked Aang in return, blinking twice in confusion.

"Killing my father," stated Zuko.

Aang froze as the situation at hand finally dawned on him.

...

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar The Last Airbender**

...

Azula sat to the right of her father, the war meeting currently going on having no real meaning as the Fire Lord and his closest personal went over the finer details of their plan again and again. The comet was almost upon them and they were panicking, afraid that perhaps one of the engines in the blimps would fail or personal would be short due to the fact that several squads had recently been deployed.

…what?

"Repeat that," Azula demanded, fire in her voice and for a second the gathered commanders feared that the imperial princess had stepped out of line and would be punished by the Fire Lord. When the ruler of their nation said nothing regarding the outburst, the general who had spoken repeated what he had said.

"Because of the attacks and the resulting unrest, more than twelve percent of our forces are on route to apprehend the target," he said. "With more than half our forces already outside of the capital…"

"Who is the target?" asked Azula.

"We received a report saying that it is…'him.'

"Is it the Avatar, my brother perhaps?" demanded Azula, her patience getting thinner by the second.

"The 'Fire Eater,' Natsu Dragneel," said another commander, not wanting to stay on the topic any longer than he had to. "Fire bending abilities are unknown other than he has the ability to manipulate and consume flames. He had been captured and locked away on the Boiling Rock but we all know of the incompetence of our prison guards."

"What do you suggest we do?" asked Ozai, the Fire Lord knowing that with the comet approaching as quickly as it was it would be better to deal with this situation as soon as possible. While not disastrous to their plans, the fact that such a number of their forces had been deployed because other warriors fighting under his banner were unable to defeat a single fighter showed weakness.

He hated weakness.

"Have him eliminated," declared Azula. It was the simplest solution after all. Even if this person was capable of trading blows with a couple of squads which had more likely than not become lax with their training and fighting abilities, an insect stood no might against the full force of the Fire Nation.

"Azula," said Ozai, turning his head slowly to face his daughter, the princess of the Fire Nation physically wincing at the glare that her father gave her. Fear was something she had long since forgotten, Ozai felt it right to now remind her just what made a true leader. "Of the tens of thousands of soldiers we have at our disposal, only a handful are skilled at anything other than firebending. Fire is what makes our forces so formidable, yet such power is useless against this boy. So, I ask you again Azula. What do you suggest?"

Azula struggled against the lump that had formed in her throat as her peripheral vision caught sight of all of the commanders under her father's rule, waiting on her as she struggled with what her answer should be. Weighing up the time it would likely take this Natsu character to reach the capital, if that was his destination, then there wasn't enough time to summon the Yuyan Archers to take him down. Plus her father would never agree to send out an airship so close to when the comet was due. "As an escaped convict, there must be a bounty on his head," she said, receiving an affirmative nod. "Have his bounty tripled, more even if necessary. Even if they know it's a foolish quest, men will do stupid things for the right price and it will serve in slowing him down. Meanwhile I will send my Dai Li agents out to deal with him, take him by surprise when he is exhausted from fighting for his life."

Fire Lord Ozai mulled over this for several seconds. "Very well," he said. "Dealing with this criminal is now your responsibility Azula and should you fail…"

"I won't," declared Azula before turning his attention to the person who first brought up this conversation topic. "What does Natsu Dragneel look like, so that I may inform the Dai Li."

"The description we got from the Boiling Rock depicts him of being aged roughly between fifteen and eighteen and easily noticeable by his pink hair," said the man before stopping himself as Azula rose to her feet in a matter of moments.

"Impossible!" she cried. "I know the boy, I tossed his body into the boiling lake myself! I watched his body drop through the water."

"Did you hear his scream?" Azula nearly gave herself whiplash as she turned to face her father, his question still lingering on his lips. Recalling back to that moment, any normal man would have screamed as their skin melted off their flesh, desperately trying to swim to the safety of the edge. Other than the sound of the gondola however she had heard nothing. "Your silence is all the proof I need," said Ozai. "This being the case, note that not only can he consume fire, heat as a whole seemingly has no effect on him. I trust this will not inconvenience you Azula."

It wasn't a question.

"It will not, Fire Lord Ozai," said Azula, calling her father by his title as she bowed towards him before marching towards the exit, the rest of the meeting having no meaning for her. Her instructions were clear and no matter how much of a threat was in her path, to appease her father and further her hold on the next position of Fire Lord, she would slay Natsu Dragneel with her own hands if need be. She would be the next ruler of the Fire Kingdom. One way or another.

...

Ty Lee watched as Natsu hung his head out of the window of the carriage they had hijacked. Due to his intense motion sickness (of which by now she was finding just a touch irritating) he rode in comfort while she steered a couple of ostrich horses towards their destination, ignoring the defeated soldiers they left in their wake.

Having travelled with Azula, she had seen many different variations of firebending, outside of the traditional style taught amongst the many soldiers at the Fire Nation's disposal, she had discovered many variations in the way fire was used in battle. All of that however was nothing compared to how Natsu fought. All thoughts of self-preservation went out the window when he charged head first into the flames; the best defence is a good offence didn't even seem to come close to clarifying his way of fighting. She had seen him fight earlier against bounty hunters along with both herself and Mai but the way he tore through Fire Nation soldiers was something else.

She knew conversing with him while he was as ill as he was would be a pointless exercise, so instead she just simply observed her surroundings as they headed towards their desitnation. While not the fastest animals out there, the ostrich horses she was keeping control of were quite quick and provided there were no more interruptions, they could potentially make the capital by nightfall. The question was though was what kind of opposition would they be facing? They had already tore apart a couple of reinforcement squads with little difficulty and were they to continue their venture directly ahead they would encounter more enemies. By now they likely had realized that conventional firebending was likely ineffective so what would they do?

As far as she could see, other than Aang, Natsu was the worst person in existence from the perspective of the Fire Lord. Because he was the greatest threat to the elemental nation outside of the Avatar, chances were that they could be running towards all manner of enemies. The Rough Rhinos crossed her mind, they skill fighting without the use of firebending would be a better assault force to tackle someone unaffected by heat. Whether or not they had mobilized or could be under such short notice was difficult to determine. Alternatively, Azula had the…

Ty Lee's eyes shot wide as she recalled the Dai Li agents that Azula had as her personal task force. The prominent Earth Benders were large in number, skilled and against the two of them would have a good chance of success. She herself would suffice for a while but her track record against people who could move the ground beneath her feet wasn't that great. Plus, Natsu's gung-ho style of fighting would get him captured easily. Even if fire couldn't faze him, being immobilized would be on the list of things which could take him down.

Biting at her lip, she wondered what her best option would be. At this stage they had travelled on the coast line, bypassing fishing villages and other small communities. Whatever forces there had been, regardless of whether they saw both herself and Natsu as a threat, had been taken down with the knowledge that it would cause a manner of unrest in the heart of the nation. While their direct route was simple, it was the most reckless and with Natsu unable to speak he couldn't tell her what he would prefer. She knew that he would choose the option which spent the least amount of time being dragged around on transport but she knew that such a route only led to danger.

"Sorry Natsu," she said as she pulled on the reins, forcing the ostrich horses to veer to the right. It wasn't much, likely only adding a few hours to their journey but it would prevent them from encountering any enemies that would travel along the direct path. Those extra few hours however would force them deep into the night and they would likely have to set up camp. They would be out in the open, unprotected as they slept until morning. She doubted whether either herself or Natsu could be trusted to stay awake during shifts so she would have to do her best to find a small town on the horizon or even a cave to sleep in.

She only hoped that she had made the right decision.

...

Sokka paid the merchant what he was owed before making his way back to the edge of town where the rest of the group was waiting for his return. The number of Fire Nation soldiers he had seen in the city since his arrival was far less than he had expected. As far as he could tell, that meant one of two things. First option was that the Fire Lord had recalled a number of his forces before the comment, or secondly whatever chaos Natsu and Ty Lee were constructing was working wonders.

He liked to think it was the second option.

The bigger question at the moment though was what Aang would do when they confronted the Fire Lord, on the proviso that Natsu didn't get to the leader of the Fire Nation first. It was well believed that Aang was destined to restore peace and balance to the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the tyranny that had spread with his rule. The Fire Nation soldiers would follow Ozai until he was defeated, but what did that entail? Sokka knew that Aang wouldn't have it in him to kill the Fire Lord, the boy had been taught by the monks of old about how all life was sacred.

So how did they defeat the leader of the enemy without killing him? Or did it have to be Aang to deal the finishing blow? Even if the Fire Lord was defeated, would the entire nation simply bow it's head in defeat or would they refuse to back down when so close to having won the war?

It was that last factor which drove even greater fear into Sokka. It had taken the Fire Nation a century to claim the fabled city of Ba Sing Se. Who was to say they couldn't hold it in a last stand for another century?

Sokka rubbed at his temples, he was thinking far too much about things that were yet to come when there were far greater things at risk. Focusing himself, he knew that the final showdown would occur tomorrow.

The day before Sozin's Comet was due to arrive.

...

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

...

Natsu stared at the wall which protected the capital of the Fire Nation from his wrath, the extensive construction spreading for miles both to his left and his right. "You took me…an extra three hours into the middle of the country…to attack from this angle?" he asked of his companion.

Ty Lee shrugged her shoulders in response. "It was either come into the middle of the country and attack from a position they weren't expecting or run straight into the middle of their larger force," she said with conviction, believing wholeheartedly that she had made the right decision.

"I would've preferred the quicker route," said Natsu, putting his hand over his mouth recalling how much more he had suffered due to Ty Lee's decision. Arguably it had been the better one in the long run, but considering he had to suffer so much in the short term he would've much rather taken the shorter route.

"C'mon then," said Ty Lee as she slapped the backside of one of the ostrich horses she had commandeered, the speedy animal squawking before running off into the distance, followed by its companion. The metallic transport that she had used to haul Natsu across the country was abandoned behind them, the carriage having fulfilled its use.

"Am I still going to beat up the bad guys?" he asked.

Ty Lee swallowed a lump in her throat as she considered that question. For so many years she had believed that the Fire Nation had been the one's in the right. That the Fire Lord's conquest of the world was the right thing to happen for the country and, to an extent, the world. Now though that she was on the other side, she had taken a moment to see the amount of suffering that those who didn't see the Fire Lord's way went through. Her brief time aboard the ship used to escape the Burning Rock had allowed her to speak with many of the convicts, most of which had been firebenders who had disagreed with the war. The idea that members of the Fire Nation would rebel against their own country was something that the Fire Lord and all those who followed him would not allow. She had talked to these men, they had friends and family who had been stripped away because they held a different point of view to the one their dictator of a leader held.

As weird as it was, she now felt that Ozai was a dictator. Who would've thought?

"Yes, we're still going to have plenty of bad guys to beat up," she said slowly. She knew as they got closer and closer to the heart of the Fire Nation that there was a chance that civilians would get drawn into the conflict. In the small villages that they had passed (and subsequently decimated all of the armed forces) she had to admit the greater war had no real effect on them. It didn't matter to them who they paid their taxes too, they were complacent with the fact if their day to day life didn't change then they couldn't care who won the war, provided they were even aware the war was still going.

"Excellent," said Natsu as he smashed his fist into an open palm, fire igniting at the contact between his two fists. To Ty Lee it was still an astounding sight to see him unburned whenever he should have been in a medical facility. Yet, to declare him a secret weapon in the war around them was an understatement, highlighted by the number of Fire Nation soldiers he had already decimated up until this point. She herself knew that she was capable of disarming a number of opponents but to the regard that Natsu accomplished wasn't even on the horizon.

Speaking of the horizon.

"Great," said Ty Lee, not sharing Natsu's proclamation as she looked to the top of the wall. Natsu followed her gaze, shielding his eyes from the sun as he peered at the top pf the wall to spot dozens of images that seemed out of place. "Azula found us."

"Azula?" asked Natsu.

"Zuko's sister, next in line to become Fire Lord," said Ty Lee as she mentally braced herself. "She has an elite Earth Bending militia at her disposal, the small figures atop the wall."

"Alright, so if the guys we were fighting until now could shoot fire out of the hands, can these guy's shoot rocks put of their hands?" asked Natsu.

"WHAT?" asked Ty Lee before recalling the fact that the pink haired warrior was not originally from their world. She composed herself, taking a deep breath before looking longingly at Natsu. "Earthbenders are capable of moving anything that is related to the ground. They can shift the ground beneath your feet to crumble mountains. The guy's that Azula have that are capable of making the ground you're standing on swallow you whole. They can encase your body in stone and render you unable to fight back. They can…"

"So it'll be a good challenge then," said Natsu, smiling all the while as the small Earth Bending warriors slid down the side of the wall. Ty Lee knew that she should argue the point, roughly fifty of the best Earth Benders produced were gunning straight for her and the pink haired fire eater. She also knew, wherever the Dai Li were, Azula was not far behind. Natsu may not have known the severity of the situation at hand, but at this stage she couldn't care. Were they to be defeated today in the battle to come, she would shrug her shoulders and admit that they had been bettered. If she and Natsu won, it would go down in lore as one of the greatest defeats the Fire Nation ever suffered. Were it anybody else by her side, she would almost guarantee that defeat would be a certainty.

With Natsu however, she had to say they had more than a chance.

They could win.

Stretching her shoulders above her head and giving herself a few moments to limber up, Ty Lee braced herself for the battle ahead. She could see the determination spread across Natsu's face, the otherworldly wizard was confident he would not fall today. She knew that she couldn't mimic the look on his face but she forced herself to smile at the oncoming Dai Li agents. Regardless of the outcome, she would see this through to the end with a smile on her face and enjoying every moment.

Because she couldn't tell which upcoming moment may potentially be her last.

...

Azula watched her Dai Li agents charge forward at the two people which threatened her nation. Even from her position she could see the two familiar figures, she shouldn't have been surprised to see that Ty Lee was travelling with a trait you'd expect to see in a circus performer. She had instructed the Dai Li agents to break and bring the fire eater to her feet. Azula had also told them to show no mercy to any travelling partners.

She would be glad to watch her former friend die.

As her weapons began to fan out and surround Natsu and Ty Lee, Azula's gaze shifted as she saw something in the sky. It was still quite some distance away but she had spent a long time chasing down that flying bison that she could recognize it even amongst the clouds. She couldn't tell whether the two opponents on the ground were in cohorts with the Avatar but the timing seemed more than coincidental. Two strong fighters making a mockery of the Fire Nation taking out as much of their fighting force as possible, to the point where even her Dai Li agents were tackling them head on, while the true threat passed by overhead and faced less resistance.

No, she knew the Avatar, the boy had been taught by the monks of old. He would never agree to sacrifice people for the greater cause. Unfortunately, whether or not this was planned or not, the bison was too simple a target and lightning began to charge at her fingertips. One well-placed bolt would end the flying beast and with it the Avatar and his cohorts would fall to their deaths.

Her motions paused, the elaborate display halting as she stopped mere moments from dealing with the Avatar. Seconds away from eternal glory, she allowed the electrical charge she had built to vanish into nothing. Her father had disrespected her in front of the might of the Fire Nation, the generals all witnessing her as a timid girl, not the mighty warrior that she was. She had been sent to fight the pink haired brat and the circus freak. The Avatar could kill her father for all she could care. If her father succeeded and slay the Avatar, she would do exactly what she had in Ba Sing Se and use her Dai Li agents to take out the generals before she usurped her father and took her place as Fire Lord Azula.

It wouldn't be easy, especially with the comet so close but she was determined that she would sit at her rightful place before the week was up. She needed another weapon at her disposal however, a bloodied and beaten fire eater that could easily nullify any remote threat her father could still possess.

She had been able to get the Dai Li to double cross their leader with minimal effort. How hard could it be to make a hormonal teenage boy bend to her whim?

"Get ready," said Zuko as Aang guided Appa over the wall and into the capital of the Fire Nation.

"Everyone remember the plan?" asked Sokka of the group.

"We went over it too many times, just put me on the ground already," said Toph more than keen to get straight into the action.

Mai merely shrugged her shoulders, more than happy to just get this whole thing over and done with. She had already helped in overthrowing the capital of the Earth Kingdom, why should overthrowing the capital of the Fire Nation be any different?

"Good luck everyone," said Suki as she finished applying the final touches of her war paint. The Kyoshi warrior was fully armed and knew exactly what part she was to play in the battle to come.

"Hopefully we don't need it," said Katara, her water pouches filled to the brim. Thankfully, Zuko had already informed her of where the main liquid sources in the city were in case she needed more ammunition.

"Let's do this," said Aang as he directed Appa down towards the palace.

The final battle was about to begin.

...

The situation looked dire from an outsider's perspective. A boy and a girl, completely surrounded by the enemy. Neither party had made the first move, both groups knowing that the start of this fight could very well dictate the end. As she stood there, her bare feet rubbing against the dirt, she put her hands together and silently prayed for Natsu's victory.

Then the first of the dragons would return home.

 **...**

 **Hope you enjoyed**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or Fairy Tail**

...

The first strike came from the left, a fist made of stone gunning for his face. Natsu knew that such an attack was easily avoidable and really only served to show the rest of the men surrounding him how he would react in such an instance. As tempting as it was to simply smash the flying piece of stone to pieces, he didn't want to give away his strength just yet. Leaning to the side, Natsu allowed the rock to sail past his head with minimal effort. Of course this would have been the case were the people surrounding him weren't able to control stone with a simple movement.

The stone fist exploded in front of him, pieces of debris crashing into his face and dust clouding his vision. He grunted in pain as he did his best to clear his eyes, Natsu could also hear Ty Lee scream out his name and reacted accordingly, dropping low to avoid the weapons which flew over him, momentarily at least before they veered direction and rained down upon him.

"Get down!" he commanded of Ty Lee, the flexible circus performer becoming flat with the ground as Natsu stood at his peak and unleashed a torrent fire from his mouth, spinning in a circle his inferno spread far and wide and all of the Dai Li agents were forced to take defensive measures. Walls of earth burst from the ground, protecting them but giving Natsu enough time to clear his vision. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," said Ty Lee as she sprung back to her feet. "I take it now is where we attack?"

"You bet, I'm all fired up!"

Natsu charged towards one part of the wall that now had him surrounded, Ty Lee staying close to his side. Above them, Dai Li agents launched themselves to the top of their wall and started firing small chunks of stone from their rock encased hands. Ty Lee did her best to weave between the attacks but couldn't help but wince in pain when she was unable to avoid all of them. She watched however as Natsu simply took whatever hits collided with him without hesitation before closing in on the wall, his fist held back and encased in flames.

He stopped in his movements however as a thin piece of stone with a jagged tip shot forth from the wall. He heard Ty Lee scream but couldn't pay it much attention as he looked down at where the small attack pierced straight through his stomach. The Dai Li gathered closer and focused their assault on Ty Lee, the former circus performer now their greater threat.

Or so they thought.

For the skilled Earthbender who stood above where Natsu was impaled, he had thought his job completed. To feel the entire construct he was standing on crumble beneath him through nothing more than the strength of a fire covered fist was almost impossible to believe. As he fell to the rumble below, he could see that same fist coming straight at him, colliding with his face and sending him flying off into the distance.

The Dai Li agents, grouped together as one on equal terrain, watching as the boy in front of him pulled out the stone that had impaled him and threw the bloody rock to the ground. They knew that with such an injury, it wouldn't be long before he ran out of that insane strength of his. From what they had used so far, they knew that whatever attacks they did send would be almost a pointless exercise. Had Azula wanted this beast of a Firebender dead then it would have been easy to do so but their orders were to bring him back alive. The wound he had suffered thus far was nonlethal, provided he accepted medical treatment. Any more attacks like that would be fatal and would bring about the wrath of the woman who ordered them as she pleased. Therefore it was now just a waiting game; so long as they could outlast him, they had won.

"Ty Lee, get behind me," ordered Natsu as blood dribbled down his chin. Ty Lee did as instructed, mildly terrified of the sight in front of her as Natsu gauged the enemies in front of him, all grouped together.

Lightning began to dance around Natsu before fire encased his body. He didn't know how much strength he had left and knew that if he could end it in a single strike he would. "Let's see if this works," said Natsu as lightning flickered about dangerously before he pulled his head back. Having seen this attack before, the Dai Li agents worked in unison to create a thick wall to shield them from the jet of flame that Natsu would expel from his mouth.

Except it wasn't just fire.

Ty Lee could only watch in shock as wielded both fire and lightning into a single attack, the stream of destruction was so vast and wide that whatever shield the Dai Li had put up was completely annihilated. The ground was torn from the Earth and she could hear the screams of pain from the Dai Li as they were blown aside as if nothing more than insects and as the attack subsided she could see that, despite all of the odds, they had won.

...

Appa swerved through the heavy firepower that the flying bison was more than used to at this stage. Aang's guiding hand and Katara moulding the large amounts of water at her disposal ensured that the animal of years gone past faced no danger. The flying bison roared as he was directed downwards, the soaring animal nearly crashing into a tower as he descended low enough for his passangers to leap off to a nearby rooftop.

Aang watched with a heavy heart as Appa flew off into the distance knowing depending on the outcome of this war, he may have held onto the fur coat of his companion for the last time. A fireball spearing past his head snapped him back to reality as he moulded his own fire to combat the attacks heading his way, he and Zuko keeping all assaults at bay as the rest of the group scaled to the ground floor one way or another. Toph, for her part, merely leapt off the rooftop having gained a rough understanding of how far from the surface she was, and smashed into the ground before unleashing all of her Earthbending prowess, creating a fortified barrier to protect those only now just reaching the ground floor. Toph's barrier even reached the rooftop, allowing Zuko and Aang to quickly make their way down to where everyone else was with speed.

"Everybody remember the plan," said Sokka, nobody having to clarify that they did remember what was required of them before they fanned out, splitting up into smaller groups each with their own task. Unsheathing his fabled space sword, Sokka looked towards his only compatriot in Toph who was looking back at him. "Have you figured out where the bulk of their forces are?"

"That way," she replied, pointing off into the distance.

"Then let's go smash some heads," said Sokka trying to his own fear, knowing full well that Toph had likely already seen through his bravado.

"Don't worry, I'm scared to," she said seemingly haven read the mood, startling Sokka somewhat. "What? We've gone well beyond enemy lines to a place where everyone is trying to kill us; there's no escape route, there's no Plan B, there's only success or failure and frankly, the odds are not in our favor."

"Our job's not the hardest one though," said Sokka knowing that perhaps he had left the more troubling aspects of the mission to his sister, his girlfriend and Zuko's girlfriend. Mai, Suki and Katara had been tasked with keeping the air force grounded. Zuko had explained in detail how the dozen odd blimps fit into his father's plan and how fire would rain down on all who opposed them. Because they were such an important part of the Fire Lord's plan, while they may not have been the most heavily guarded number wise there were sure to be more than a good number of enemies positioned there.

Sokka had told the three girls that they didn't have to technically destroy the ships, even if they could simply get away with disabling them and causing enough mechanical failures to confuse the Fire Nation for more than twenty four hours. Unfortunately, that was all he had had to say on that topic as Mai had quickly cut him off stating that she knew exactly where the flying vessels would likely be located and, as such, she would select her team at will. Sokka had wanted to contest that straight off the bat but Zuko had told him that such an activity would be pointless, garnering a small smile from his girlfriend.

Grabbing his boomerang from its pouch, Sokka let loose and watched with satisfaction as it collided with the helmet a soldier was wearing before returning to him, ducking as he gripped his weapon to avoid a small fireball. Follow up attacks were blocked as a slab of ground rose up and shielded his back, Toph multitasking as small pieces of stone flung out in multiple directions, seeking out their intended target and delivering crippling damage. With all of the immediate danger out of the way, she gripped onto the steel beams that held the tower up before using her recently discovered metal bending and crumpled the support, the entire structure collapsing. "Let's go," she commanded, sprinting off with Sokka by her side.

It was weird, of all the people that she could have been fighting with, for all their bending powers or superior fighting abilities, she was kind of glad that it was Sokka that was standing by her side. She would never tell him such a thing however, she had a reputation to uphold after all.

...

Aang and Zuko charged towards the palace, both of them getting the grating feeling that they were running straight into the middle of a trap. The forces they had encountered up to this point had been dismal, as if solely there to show that Fire Nation soldiers were still present. There weren't even enough to slow them down in the slightest.

"Something doesn't feel right," said Aang.

"Doesn't matter, we keep going," said Zuko knowing that were they to slow down and halt their process it would spell the end for their plan. He simply hoped that the entire reason they hadn't encountered much interference up to this point was due to the forces having been forcibly fanned out. His father was arrogant and believed that he was the strongest in the Fire Nation, if he felt that he could defeat all that approached him then he would only be surrounded by high ranking officials, the elite of his army. Which in and of itself could turn disastrous.

What worried him most of all however was Aang who had spent much of the previous evening talking back to prior incantations of himself about whether or not there was another path that could be taken. From sunset to the middle of the night, Aang had chatted away with prior Avatars, each champion of the world giving their advice in his time of need. He had returned at some point however, an idea having seemingly formed but by then Zuko had been too tired to question him, having rather slept himself.

He only hoped that whatever Aang had learned would be beneficial to the battle ahead.

Approaching the palace, the gates were wide open, inviting them in to whatever lay before them. They charged on in before skidding to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. As Zuko had predicted, the bulk of the Fire Nation forces were nowhere in sight. The Fire Lord however was standing atop the stairs, his hands placed behind his back with five army generals standing on either side of him. "Prince Zuko, you have returned here once more," said Ozai, not moving from his spot as he looked down at his son. "If you so desperately had wanted to end this you would have killed me when you had the chance."

"It was not my destiny," declared Zuko as he braced himself.

"No, your destiny is to die a miserable death here today, all of your accomplishments will become meaningless and you will be swept away from the history books. All accounts of your existence will be that of the worthless son of Fire Lord Ozai, who though valiant in his effort, had not the strength of mind or body to do what he believed was right."

"Then again, destiny is just that, destiny," continued the Fire Lord. "Words foreshadowing possible outcomes on a future that is yet to be written. The Avatar is destined to defeat me, something which will not happen proving that destiny is nothing to fear. You are the controller of your own fate, and if you were to kill the Avatar I would once again welcome you to my side."

"Never!" shouted Zuko, knowing full well that were he even to strike down his companion then he would be slaughtered. Having pointed a sword at his father the day of the Eclipse had sealed all possible chance of him ever being a 'son' in his father's eyes.

"And here I was thinking we could be diplomatic," sighed Ozai feigning belief that such a plan had any chance of success.

"Zuko," said Aang in little more than a whisper. "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" asked Zuko not taking his eyes off of the force in front of him.

"The wound on my back, the one Azula made," said Aang, finding it somewhat difficult to talk about such a topic.

"What about it?"

"…I need you to punch it."

"What?" said Zuko, finally taking his eyes off of the enemy, a small mistake which could have grievous consequences as all of the generals charged forward, bounding down the stairs at an incredible rate.

"Just do it!" commanded Aang, turning his back to Zuko and leaving himself completely exposed. Zuko turned his head to look at the oncoming threat before looking back at Aang and growling, pulling his fist back as he did so.

For Aang, he merely closed his eyes and inhaled, the words of his predecessors circulating through his mind. Their advice felt like it merged into one until such a point as when he couldn't tell which prior Avatar had told him what. He did know however that one of them had told him that he couldn't reach victory without having felt suffering, both for the battle to come and the battle within himself.

Aang only hoped he had interpreted this correctly as Zuko's fist collided with his old would, his eyes shooting open as his Air Bending tattoos shone bright with white light, his eyes no longer showing any colour but that of bright luminescence.

The Avatar had awoken.

...

She watched on from her place in the shadows, joy flowing through after having watched the Fairy Tail member succeed. Like Gajeel before him, Natsu would soon return home. She didn't know why the three Dragon Slayers had been whisked off as they had when Acnologia had unleashed its attack but if Gajeel's efforts had taught her anything she knew that once this war was over, Natsu's reason for being here would end. When that happened, hypothetically, he would return.

Now she could only hope that wherever Wendy had gone she would help end whatever situation the universe had asked of her.

 **...**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

...

Azula knew well what fear was. Fear was what she installed into her enemies. Fear was what she used to get her followers to obey her commands. Fear was the look that was given to her every single day.

Fear was not something she experienced. The sensation of being feared was what she deserved.

Yet why could she not move?

Whatever miniscule amount of terror her father had driven into her the day before was nothing like what Azula was experiencing now. The princess of the Fire Nation had expected things to go smoothly with minimal resistance, after all there was no point in sending Firebenders in to battle someone who could immediately nullify their attacks. The Dai Li were some of the most prominent warriors the Earth Kingdom had ever produced.

They were nothing compared to that single attack.

She had watched on in shock as a torrent of fire and lightning tore apart the Dai Li, ripping up the ground for as far as the eye could see. The defence they had put up would have held an entire Fire Nation platoon at bay yet it was nothing compared to the strength Natsu Dragneel had. Should the attack have been aimed towards the city she had little belief that the walls that protected her home for centuries would have had the ability to stand up to the blow.

Azula turned to look towards the city, the Palace she called home likely under attack by the Avatar and his cohorts as of this very moment. On the proviso her father escaped this encounter vicotious, the mere fact that she hadn't accomplished the task that had been assigned to her would see her banished and exiled from the country. Such was the man her father was. Sure she could try and capture Natsu by herself but she hypothesised that if the man was able to consume fire and subsequently shoot it from his mouth, the same could be said for lightning after having watched him use it.

Her arsenal had no effect on him.

On the other side of the spectrum, were her father to be defeated it would in all likelihood mean that her brother would ascend to the position of Fire Lord, the banished prince would become one of the most powerful rulers on the planet. She chuckled mildly at the irony of it before wondering just what would become of her. Her pride would forbid her from bowing her head and watch as her brother abused the power which rightfully belonged to her. Challenging him to an Agni Kai was an option but he had no reason to accept, much like how she had refused his challenge back in Ba Sing Se.

She had no allies, nobody to take her in and all of her power would be effectively stripped from her. Just yesterday she had all the power in the world at her disposal. Arguably there would be the possibility that her uncle would take care of her, Iroh was always one for looking after those with nowhere else to go if his time with her brother was anything to go by. That left the question though; were the Avatar to be victorious, was there any place for her in a world without war?

No, this wasn't the end to war. This was merely the end of the greatest war history had ever seen. Would it be the final war? Of course not. The Avatar could not be everywhere at once to ensure peace remained. While she may not have anybody to help her at the moment did not mean that all was lost. There would still be those that craved the thrill of battle. There would still be those who wished to stand on top, whether as the leader of their village or the leader of the world.

Peace would not last and when the world crumbled around her she would stand tall once more. Looking over her shoulder at the destruction her Dai Li agents had been subjected to, she vowed that when the time came, she would be ready. As she ran off towards the woods and away from the Capital, she failed to notice one person watching as she vanished off.

Ty Lee couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace her face as she saw Azula run off. Having travelled with her for so long she knew that that member of royalty likely didn't know what it is she wanted to do at the moment and escape was the simplest of options. Perhaps once all this was over she would spend some time trying to track down her 'friend,' a term she used quite loosely. There was a place in the world for everybody and if Azula still hadn't found her place when next they met she would help her however she could.

Speaking of helping people.

Natsu was currently collapsed on the ground, complaining about something regarding to not being able to control his newfound powers, something which she just assumed was otherworld jargon. There was a lot about the realm that Natsu had travelled from which she had little to no idea about and if Natsu was saying he couldn't control something than she wasn't going to argue with him. She had bandaged up his wounds from battle having torn off the lower part of her attire, wrapping it around his abdomen tightly. It hadn't completely stopped the flow of blood hut it had slowed it down to a point where Natsu was in no immediate danger.

"C'mon you," she said as she pulled Natsu up to his feet, slinging his arm over her shoulders as she started to march him towards the city gates one step at a time. While the damage she had taken had been minimal she knew that it was now up to her were they to encounter any more resistance, however unlikely that may be. After having witnessed Natsu's destructive capabilities she doubted anybody would be foolish enough to step in his way.

By some chance that they were, well she'd deal with it if the situation arose.

...

Mai, Katara and Suki stayed hidden in the shadows of an alleyway, watching on as soldiers charged past likely to wherever Sokka and Toph were currently located. They had watched as towers crumble, a pure sign of Toph's metalbending skills in action.

"This way," commanded Mei, spotting a gap in the patrols and urging her partners forward towards the next hidden location. Their journey had been slow but steady, ensuring that they didn't run into any conflict up thus far.

Suki leant up against the wall and prepped herself as Mai came running at her before hoisting the weapon throwing warrior up onto the rooftop. She was only up there for a few seconds before descending back down, thankfully without having to avoid any fiery projectiles. "How does it look?" asked Katara.

"Boring," commented Mai, Suki and Katara grasping that that was Mai's way of saying that they wouldn't be facing much conflict from here on out.

"Alright, let's keep going," said Suki as the trio ran down the alleyway, checking the street to make sure it was clear before heading towards their final destination. Or they would have continued on their way if a large explosion didn't cause them all to look towards where the palace was located. They watched on as part of the building that had been the centre of the Fire Nation stronghold for centuries collapsed, the heritage building being unable to withstand the force of the battle currently taking place.

Of course their hesitation would also turn into their undoing.

Katara reacted first, summoning the water from the pouch she kept by her side and negating the fire which had threatened to incinerate them. Mai quickly followed suit, knives slipping out of her sleeve and into her hand before quickly being launched at the threat. The speed of the projectiles made it impossible for the soldier to avoid the attack but his outburst was enough to draw attention towards the three female warriors, all of them readying themselves for the battle to come.

"We need to go somewhere there's water," stated Suki knowing full well that the amount of liquid that Katara had on her would not be enough for an all out battle.

"There's a lake down that way," said Mai, tilting her head towards the direction away from their current objective. The three of them all knew what that meant though and they all knew that while the completion of the mission was important they couldn't complete it if they were dead. For now, survival was their best option and they could only hope that enemy reinforcements were on their way to combat Toph and Sokka as opposed to the three of them, as terrible as that sounded.

With their destination in mind, the three young women made a beeline towards where Katara would be at her strongest, opting to dodge enemy attacks for the moment as opposed to countering them. Weaving between buildings, leaping over fences, any and all tactics were fair game at this point. Suki even got to the point where she lifted the lid of a trashcan and threw it cleanly, the tin disc colliding square with a soldier's chest plate. Every second they secured was a second that allowed them to get closer to their advantage.

"Almost there," stated Mai as she blindly flicked a few projectiles behind her, forcing their pursuers to take evasive action. "Just round this corner."

The trio skidded around the final bend before freezing in their tracks. In front of them lay the lake that would help bring them victory. In front of the lake however were two dozen soldiers, each primed and ready to attack on a moment's notice. Suki took a brief look over her shoulder to see that they had nowhere to retreat behind them and more Fire Nation soldiers were flanking them on either side.

They were surrounded.

Katara went through as many calculations as possible, knowing that as soon as she started any kind of water bending that they would be assaulted from all sides. Several of the enemy were facing away from where they were standing, likely to use their Firebending to counter her Waterbending abilities as soon as the lake started to shift unnaturally. Her pouch had a minimal amount remaining, perhaps enough to take on a single Firebender but nothing compared to the force that was opposing her.

"Anybody got any ideas?" whispered Suki.

"It's simple, either they win, or we win," declared Mai as her hands filled with her weapons of choice. Suki braced herself as she shifted into a fighting pose and Katara prepared to spring into action and use the entire contents of the lake if need be.

The standoff shattered moments later, a fireball raining down from the sky in between where Mai, Katara and Suki were standing and the largest part of the enemy force. Landing where his fireball had previously struck, Zuko looked squarely towards the Fire Nation soldiers. The former prince was not wearing what he had when he and the rest of the group had infiltrated the Capital and it was one piece of jewellery he was wearing which caused the Fire Nation warriors to gasp in shock.

"Everybody is to stand down immediately! I, Fire Lord Zuko, declare that the war is over!"

 **...**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **As some of you guessed, I am planning on another couple of crossover fics after this one staring both Gajeel and Wendy respectively. Only one of these fics I actually have an idea of where I want to send the characters at this point so if you have any suggestions please let me know. When this story concludes I will post a snippet of the next story to show where the next Dragon Slayer has gone.**

 **Have a good day.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Avatar: The Last Airbender**

...

Zuko looked over his town, his people. Arguably despite everything, and he meant everything that had happened, this was what felt the most surreal. Not even twenty four hours had passed since he had taken his father's place, the comet burning overhead cementing the fact that this was truly a day to be celebrated.

Word had quickly spread about how he, alongside the Avatar, had defeated Fire Lord Ozai and had brought the century long war to an end. Thankfully the news had travelled across the nation as quickly as it had, it seemed as if his uncle had been preparing to attack Ba Sing Se along with the group known as the White Lotus. He knew that Iroh was a great firebender but he didn't know whether or not he and a group of elderly warriors from across the world had the strength necessary to retake back arguably the greatest stronghold the Earth Kingdom had. Regardless, the battle had been stopped before it had begun and as such many lives had been spared.

That was by far the greatest feeling of accomplishment.

Fire Lord Zuko walked away from the balcony and began to walk through the ancient halls. The scars of battle were littered around him but he paid them little attention, they would serve as a temporary reminder that battle would always be present. He knew that his ascension, with how quick and volatile it had been, would likely result in some renegade groups forming together to overthrow him. Some members of the Fire Nation likely preferred when they were atop the pecking order and now that feeling had been torn from them it was possible they would strive to return to how it once was.

The battle to end the war was over.

The battle to maintain the throne was only just beginning.

"You look like you've got a lot on your mind," said Natsu, the now infamous fire-eater heavily bandaged and leaning against the nearby wall. His pink hair, despite Ty Lee's best efforts, still had flakes of dark red blood stained deep within the roots. The new Fire Lord had been highly impressed when he had heard of that both Ty Lee and Natsu had successfully destroyed the Dai Li force that his sister controlled he had been outright impressed. The fact that twenty four hours had long since passed and he had heard nothing of his sister's whereabouts was mildly troubling but he figured that that was a battle for another day.

From his perspective there were many battles yet to be fought.

"Becoming Lord of the Fire Nation will do that to you," said Zuko half-heartedly, more of a joke than anything. A pitiful joke at that.

"I take it you've realized all the responsibilities that now belong to you," said Natsu. "I guess what you're feeling is somewhat similar to what I'll soon feel when I become an 'S' class mage."

Having no idea what an 'S' class mage was, nor how much stronger they theoretically were compared to Natsu, Zuko simply smiled and nodded towards arguably the greatest help towards ending the war. Aang having learned some trick to take away someone's bending from the first Avatar helped also but that was another story. "So I take it you'll now seek a way back to your home world," said Zuko. It wasn't a question.

"That's the plan," said Natsu with a grin as he pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against. His muscles ached and his bones creaked but he paid no attention to it as he marched up to the new ruler of the lands and slapped him playfully on the back. "Don't know how long it will take though so I hope that you'll put up with me til I find a way back."

Zuko had seen the giant trench that Natsu had made in his battle against the Dai Li, he wasn't sure if the structure of the Imperial Palace could last for much longer on it's own right, let alone with Natsu running amuck. While he theoretically order Natsu not to damage the structure that was more or less likely to result in the entire structural collapse, something which he hoped to avoid for the moment. "Until such a time in which you can safely return home, we will offer you as much as we can…within reason" Zuko added on to the end, Natsu shrugging as if having expected such an added detail.

Without another word, Zuko pushed open the nearby set of double doors, revealing a few others from the group which had successfully overthrown an empire. Lounging on his throne was Mai, her body draped over the armrests. She turned her head to the sound of the intrusion and allowed a rare smile to grace her features as swung her body around and got to her feet. In a wise move, Natsu stayed behind as Zuko was taken by Mai's hug for all two seconds that it lasted.

"That's all you're getting," said Mai as she released her grip, Zuko smiling having not expected any different. "At least in public," she added on in just the smallest of whispers, one which made Zuko catch his breath for the briefest of moments before attempting to continue on as if nothing had happened.

"Natsu, my man, my fire eating legend," said Sokka, completely oblivious to the mood of the room as he seemingly appeared from nowhere and draped an arm around Natsu's shoulder. "Man, if it wasn't for you, none of this would have happened. I mean, it still would have happened but we would have had to be well more strategical about it, and all those guys you took out would have been gunning for us instead. Man, I am so glad I busted you out of prison."

"Me too Sokka, me too," said Natsu gently patting the member of the Southern Water tribe on the back. "Have you contacted your home?"

"Sent a hawk just this morning, should receive word soon and they'll praise me like the hero I deserve to be," said Sokka.

"Put a sock in it Sokka," said Toph from nearby, the blind Earthbender standing by a broken window and allowing her skin to bask in the heat of the comet soaring overhead. "So what, we won, but at the moment that don't mean squat."

"She's right," said Zuko having recovered from Mai's teasing. "Over the last few years, all of us have strayed far from our original paths to end up at this point. One journey has come to a close with peace throughout the nations. We do however need to ensure that peace remains."

"And I guess that'll start with your coronation tomorrow," said Sokka, only prevented from hugging the new Fire Lord by Natsu grasping at the collar of his shirt. Sokka, seeing the futility of his situation, opted to stop struggling almost immediately.

"Where's your sister at?" asked Natsu, successfully managing to divert the conversation away from the current topic.

"She's chilling outside with Ty Lee and Suki," answered Sokka.

"And Aang?" asked Zuko.

"Last I saw he said that he had seen a spirit whom needed to speak with him," said Mai. "Probably just some Avatar thing that he needs to do."

Zuko had to accept that as a verified answer. The Avatar was indeed the bridge between worlds and if Aang had been approached by a spirit then it was best to leave him be for the moment. "So why aren't you with the rest of the girls?" Zuko asked of Toph. "I can understand Mai waiting behind…"

"Please, the war ends and the first thing which comes to mind for those three is boys and I for one am staying as far away from that conversation as possible," said Toph.

"My sister's talking about boys!" shouted Sokka, wrestling himself away from Natsu's grip. Thankfully he was prevented from doing anything rash by six pillars of stone rising from the ground and imprisoning him. "No fair!"

"Relax," said Natsu in as much of a comforting tone as he could. "I'll make sure they're alright." As he walked away however he was reminded of how he was as far away from alright as possible. Ty Lee had managed to drag him to a household safely, one which had seemingly either been abandoned or the occupants were away at the time. Regardless, she had patched him up as best as she could but it still hurt. Katara had offered to heal the wounds later that evening when he and Ty Lee had approached the palace and became reacquainted with the rest of the group but he had refused. With no immediate threat, he had chosen to allow his body to heal under its own merit so that he could still feel the pain as a reminder that he was nowhere near invincible.

He figured that Erza would berate him for having suffered such an injury but he wouldn't be mentioning it anytime soon.

"Hey cutie," said Ty Lee as she spotted the heavily bandaged warrior. Suki and Katara followed her gaze to spot Natsu stumbling towards them, a cheesy grin on his face telling them that everything was okay despite the fact it clearly wasn't. All three of them had been around men long enough however to know that bravado was something you couldn't unteach and if Natsu wanted to walk around with such injuries then who were they to say otherwise. It wasn't anything life-threatening and while rest was heavily advised they sincerely doubted that Natsu would listen.

From her sitting position, Ty Lee performed a small acrobatic feat to roll backwards over her head before using the momentum to push herself onto her feet. "Nice to see you guys enjoying the heat," said Natsu.

"This is a once in a lifetime event, the comet won't come close to the planet again for another hundred years," said Suki as she ran her fingers through her hair. "It's weird thinking that all the Firebenders get a huge boost in power today and we managed to stop them from using it."

"Thankfully," said Katara. "If we had charged the Capital yesterday then I don't think we had the power to actually win. We may not have even stood a chance if they managed to get their fleet into the air. I know we've steered Appa through some tough situations before but against other things in the air we may have found ourselves in trouble."

"Hey guys, what's happening?" asked Aang as he stepped into view, Natsu turning around before pausing mid thought.

"Hey Aang, who's that girl standing next to you?" he asked, pointing towards the small girl who had blonde hair draping to the floor. He also found it odd that she didn't have any shoes on.

"What girl?" asked Katara, she along with Ty Lee and Suki unable to see anything.

"You can see her?" asked Aang.

"There's someone actually here?" asked Suki.

"She's a spirit," explained Aang.

"It is no surprise that Natsu is capable of seeing me," said the spirit as she walked forward gracefully. "After all, he does belong to my guild."

"You're from Fairy Tail?" asked Natsu, the other three unable to see the newcomer clearly understanding that they would only be hearing one side of the conversation.

"Indeed, I am Mavis, the first master of Fairy Tail."

Natsu's jaw dropped.

"What? But…how?"

"I understand your confusion but this is not the time nor the world in which to discuss my existence here," said Mavis. "You have done this world a great favour having brought peace to this land. You along with the other two Dragon Slayers were sent to far off corners of the universe to help those who needed it, or so I speculate."

"There are other Dragon Slayers?" Aang asked.

"Indeed," said Mavis. "Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer has already completed the quest he was given. I have felt his presence return home. Just like you are about to Natsu."

"Wait, what about Wendy?" asked Natsu, worry in his voice.

"You will have to have faith in a fellow member of Fairy Tail that they will discover their purpose and act accordingly," said Mavis. "It is only this world which I can connect with however, the spiritual energy residing within this world is strong enough for me to show myself to both you and the Avatar."

Natsu grumbled something incoherent under his breath before a golden glow began to surround him, similar to the energy he had been radiating with when leaving Edolas. Of course, this being visible to the three girls present, shocked them completely. "What's happening?" asked Ty Lee.

"I'm going home," said Natsu as he looked towards them, a cheeky smile spread across his face.

"Just like that?" said Katara.

"Apparently so," said Natsu as Ty Lee marched up to where he was standing and tried to grab at his hand only for her fingers to shatter his very hand into particles of nothingness, no pain was being registered however so Natsu merely figured this was what was meant to happen. "That's interesting," said Natsu as he raised what was left of his hand up to his face as more of him started to break away and fade into nothingness.

"Our time here is over," said Mavis as she too started to glow, but since only Natsu and Aang could see her it really didn't have much of an effect.

"Do you want me to tell the others?" asked Suki. "Say goodbye and all that."

"Nah, I've never been good with goodbyes," said Natsu. "Just tell 'em good luck with everything."

"Really, that's it," said Ty Lee, stomping her foot on the ground in something reminiscent of a small tantrum. We gallivant halfway across the Fire Nation, survive stupidly ridiculous odds and this is how you leave!"

"I don't really get much choice in the matter," said Natsu sheepishly.

"Well at least take this with you then," said Ty Lee as she closed the already small gap between them and slammed her lips against his, a move which shocked those surrounding them. Aang began to violently blush in the background while Katara claimed how bold Ty Lee was but most of it went unnoticed by the two who were lost in the moment.

When Ty Lee finally broke the kiss, she was mildly shocked to see that less than half of Natsu remained, only his floating torso and his head were all that were left momentarily intact. "You better remember that," she said in a threatening tone.

"I will," said Natsu with a soft smile.

"Actually," interjected Mavis. "Due to the lack of interdimensional travel having been properly, if ever, recorded, it is very feasible that Natsu will have any memories of his time here whatsoever, perhaps only recollecting these adventures as a strange dream if he remembers them at all."

"What?" asked Natsu, turning his head towards where Mavis was only to watch as the rest of the first Guild Master vanish away.

"What did your spirit friend say?" asked Ty Lee, wanting to know what had shocked Natsu.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," said Natsu as sweat began to form on his brow.

"No, she definitely said something, Aang, what did she say?" Ty Lee asked of the Avatar.

"I do my best to ensure that the business conducted by spirits and those they wish to contact remain personal," said Aang.

"Don't worry Ty Lee," said Natsu, drawing all the attention back to himself as the face began to vanish. "I won't forget you."

"Probably," he added quickly before he vanished completely leaving Ty Lee standing in front of empty space. Thankfully, Suki quickly closed the gap and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yea," said Ty Lee with a smile on her face. "I don't know why I expected anything different in the first place."

"What do you reckon Sokka's reaction will be like when I tell him Natsu's gone?" asked Katara.

"NATSU'S GONE!" shouted Sokka from inside, supernatural hearing having somehow picked up the conversation topic.

"Something like that," said Aang with a chuckle before the four of them went to tell the rest of the gang what had happened, Ty Lee taking one last look at the spot where Natsu had stood before joining the rest of her friends.

...

 **THE END**

 **Thanks to everyone who supported me through favs, follows and reviews of this story. I apologize in regards to it coming out a bit later then what I would have liked but I had my sister's wedding to help organize and ensure that nothing went wrong. Good times.**

 **Anyways, I was so sure of what world I wanted to send Wendy and like with all good plans, scrapped it at the last second. I have come up with what I hope is a good idea and one that is as random as it comes (within reason, I don't particularly know how being a wind eating Dragon Slayer would help reclaim Wall Maria in Attack on Titan, despite the fact that would be so much fun to write).**

 **As a little prelude, I give you this**

...

Wendy looked up the young woman who was looking down at her with curious eyes that shone emerald green. She wore matching colours in regards to her mini skirt, crop top and even thigh high pants. Her hair was long and of a dark shade of red and she also wore metal wrist gauntlets and an exquisite looking jewel embedded in a silver collar.

She was also floating a couple of feet above the ground.

"Excuse me, young one, but I am looking for my friends whom are likely battling some monstrosity at the moment, by chance would you know where they may be?" she asked only for a family car to go flying across the street behind them. "Oh, there they are, thank you for your time," she said before she flew off to go join the fight.

Wendy meanwhile was shivering in fear as she wondered just what kind of reality she had found herself in.

...

 **A teaser, I know and one I hope to expand on soon. In all likelihood to keep with the title of this story, it will probably be called, Unleashing the Wind Eater, because I can really not think of anything else at this point. Hope to see you all then. Have a good one.**


End file.
